Following the frenzy of Frieze Week, when international galleries and collectors descended on London to attend Frieze London, Frieze Masters and an overwhelming array of satellite fairs, museum show previews and gallery launches, lovers of art and design hopped on the Eurostar to Paris for Parisian editions of Art Basel and Design Miami.
For its third edition, Art Basel Paris has dropped the ‘Paris Plus’ and adopted the Grand Palais as its new home. Although the 2024 edition of Frieze London was deemed by many to be the best yet, with a revamped layout and new curated sections, a gargantuan show tent in Regent’s Park can’t compete with the grandeur of the 124-year-old Grand Palais on Paris’s iconic Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Recently reopened after a 466 million Euro renovation project, the Grand Palais was originally constructed for the Universal Exhibition in 1900 and was designated as a historic monument in 2000.
195 galleries from 42 countries were selected to exhibit at Art Basel Paris, with 53 newcomers and 3 themed sections: Galeries, Emergence and Premise. Art Basel Paris ends on 20th October.
Meanwhile at the equally sumptuous Monnaie de Paris, Asia NOW celebrates its 10th birthday with a curated programme led by Nicolas Bourriaud’s curatorial collective ‘Radicants’. Asia NOW is the only art fair dedicated to established and emerging artists from Asia, and more than 70 participating galleries were selected for the 2024 edition.
Design Miami returns to Paris for a second edition at the oh-so-chic Hotel de Maisons on Rue de l’Université in Saint Germain. The 18th Century mansion complete with chandeliers and frescoes, is a former home of the late Chanel designer Karl Lagerfield and serves as the perfect sumptuous setting for a fair dedicated to platforming some of the world’s most cutting-edge collectible designs, furniture and objets d’art.
Here are Six Culturalee Picks from Paris Art Week.
ART BASEL PARIS
There is no question of the high quality of art on display at Art Basel, which seems even more elevated by the breathtaking backdrop of the Grand Palais. Bizarre weather in Paris veered from 24 degrees on VIP preview day, heating up the interior of the glass-encased Grand Palais, to torrential rain on Friday which led to some rainwater leaking into the exhibition space.
OG galleries Gagosian, Hauser Wirth, Gladstone Gallery and Lisson Gallery didn’t hold back with their booths, presenting their most coveted artists at Art Basel Paris.
Gladstone Gallery’s beautifully curated display features Alex Katz, Arthur Jafa, Sarah Lucas and Robert Rauschenberg. Gagosian presents paintings, photography and sculpture by Cy Twombly, Ewa Juszkiewicz, Richard Wright and Rudolf Stingel. Gagosian artist Carsten Holler has created a sculpture of a giant psychedelic mushroom at Place Vendôme for the Art Basel Paris Public Program.
Carsten Holler sculpture at Place Vendome as part of Art Basel Paris Public Program.
Lisson Gallery presents Tony Cragg and Otobong Nkanga sculptures, paintings by Rodney Graham and Carmen Herrera, and shimmering gold sculptural textiles Nudo 23 (plata 5) (2014) and Viento Oro (2014) by Olga de Amaral, whose epic retrospective recently opened at the Fondation Cartier.
Olga De Amaral at Gagosian, Art Basel Paris.
Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois are presenting a dialogue between generations by juxtaposing New Realist artists Arman, Raymond Hains, ‘Affichisme’ founder Jacques Villeglé, Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle with contemporary artists Eulàlia Grau, Alain Bublex, Pierre Seinturier, and Henrique Oliveira. They are also introducing American artist Duke Riley for his first collaboration with the gallery. Arman’s ‘Subida al Cielo’ is featured and is one of the greatest examples of ‘Coupes’, where he slices musical instruments in a cathartic and controlled destruction of the representation of harmony. For more than three decades Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois has developed a unique program of internationally renowned artists by bringing together contemporary art and historical post-war movements.
Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois installation at Art Basel Paris.
Also not to be missed is ‘The Ruffians’, a magnificent Basquiat painting exhibited by Van de Weghe Fine Art. Created when the artist was only 22, the vast canvas captures the milieu of New York City and features motifs referencing both the father figure and Black heroism, common themes in the artist’s practice.
Van de Weghe Fine Art booth photograph by Culturalee.
Some exciting artists and galleries can be found in the premise section upstairs at Art Basel Paris, including Galerie Sultana, Ortuzar Projects, Karma and High Art.
Galerie Sultana presents a wooden arachnid sculpture covered with lace by Jessie Darling, who has a solo exhibition ‘VANITAS’ and sculpture at the Petit Palais as part of Art Basel Paris’ public program. VANITAS is a reinterpretation of Darling’s 2023 Turner Prize exhibition ‘Come on England’, featuring glass cases of decaying flowers and twisted metal barriers.
Galerie Sultana’s eclectic Art Basel Paris booth also features painting, sculpture and installation by Benoit Pieron, Justin Fitzpatrick, Matthias Garcia and P Staff.
Ortuzar Projects is exhibiting a series of beautiful seaside dreamscape paintings by Japanese artist Takako Yamguchi, which veer between abstraction and representation, evoking American modernism and Art Nouveau whilst referencing organic forms from nature.
Takako Yamaguchi at Ortuzar Gallery. Photograph by Culturalee.
A highlight of Karma’s selection is Jonas Wood’s mysterious version of a TIME magazine cover titled ‘Momo, Kiki, and Me in Mungo’s Time Mirror’ (2024), depicting a family obscuring their faces with giant leaves. Karma is also exhibiting Gertrude Abercrombie, Marley Freeman, Hughie Lee-Smith and Carole Vanderlinden.
High Art presents a group show with a standout installation of an abandoned dinner table laden with oysters, wine glasses and an empty high chair created by Matt Copson, who merges installation with projection and sculpture.
Matt Copson at High Art. Photograph by Culturalee.
DESIGN MIAMI PARIS
SCAD
The Savannah College of Art and Design is official university partner for Design Miami Paris. SCAD spotlights four alumni artists from its leading fibers, furniture design, industrial design, and interior design programs. SCAD’s specially curated showcase at the L’Hôtel de Maisons debuts new commissions and works by alumni Trish Andersen, Bradley Bowers, Laerke Lillelund and Eny Lee Parker. Andersen, Bowers and Parker elaborating on the residence’s grand architecture with playful installations. Andersen has created a sweeping floor covering, Lillelund exhibits a hand-made, jellyfish-like sculptural installation suspended from the ceiling above the grand staircase, Bowers reimagines a vintage sofa and Parker presents richly textural tables in wood and ceramic.
Culturalee Founder Lee Sharrock with Laerke Lillelund at SCAD, Design Miami Paris.
Gaetano Pesce at Salon 94 Design
Salon 94 Design showcases contemporary and historical works by Italian designer and architect, Gaetano Pesce, who died in April this year at the age of 84. His vision merged design with art and architecture and significantly impacted contemporary design. Adjacent to Design Miami Paris is a collaborative solo show by Marina Adams at the Devals space in Jardin du Palais Royal in collaboration with Salon 94.
Pictured: Salon 94 installation at Design Miami Paris. Photo by Lee Sharrock.
Louis Vuitton ‘Objets Nomades’ by Estúdio Campana
Louis Vuitton celebrates its long-standing collaboration with Estúdio Campana on the occasion of the Brazilian design studio’s 40th anniversary this year with an eye-catching installation at Design Miami Paris. Unveiling 2 new designs, the Cocoons Couture and the Kaléidoscope Cabinet. Louis Vuitton launched the Objets Nomades collection in 2012, and the ongoing initiative invites renowned international designers to create experimental yet functional objects for home and travel.
Pictured: Louis Vuitton installation at Design Miami Paris. Photo by Culturalee.
ASIA NOW
Marcos Kueh
Greeting visitors to Asia NOW is ‘Kenyalang Circus’, a majestic wall hanging installation created for the grand staircase of the Monnai de Paris by Malaysian textile artist Marcos Kueh at Galerie Ron Mandos. Kueh’s installation fits with Asia NOW’s theme of ‘Ceremony’, curated by curatorial cooperative ‘Radicants’ with artistic director Nicholas Bourriaud. Kueh’s narrative-based textile works continue a Malaysian visual tradition of storytelling through textiles.
Marcos Kueh installation at Asia NOW. Photograph by Culturalee.
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NIKA Project Space
Dubai and Paris gallery NIKA Project Space are dedicating their booth at Asia Now to artist Mirna Bamieh. Bamieh presents her Sour Things series. For Lisbon-based Palestinian artist Mirna Bamieh, sour is the sharp taste of grief and loss. Her multi-media installation “Sour Things: The Pantry” (2024) references displacement and loss, and features a series of ceramic wall pieces ‘Grieving in Colours’. As well as the presentation at Asia NOW, the gallery is presenting a solo exhibition of Mirna Bamieh at the Paris gallery until 27 October.
Mirna Bamieh at Nika Project Space at Asia Now. Photograph by Culturalee.
Biscuit Gallery presents a dual exhibition of Miyu Yamada and Kosuke Ajiro at Asia NOW, with a live painting session by Miyu Yamada on the opening day of the fair. Miyu Yamada was born in Tokyo in 1994 and graduated with a law degree from Aoyama Gakuin University before becoming an artist. She creates paintings featuring creatures inhabiting the gaps of time periods and society, capturing the floating feeling and evasiveness of contemporary life.
Miyu Yamada live painting at Biscuit Gallery, Asia NOW. Photograph by Culturalee.
Kaikai Kiki Gallery is dedicating its booth to the delectable ‘Flowers and Figures’ series of paintings by Tomoyumi, a Japanese artist creating flower-filled portraits of wide-eyed female characters, produced when the artist was recovering from depression.
Tomoyumi at Kaikai Kiki Gallery. Photography by Culturalee.
Backslash gallery is exhibiting a series of delicate red ink drawings and ceramics by Mongolian artist Odonchimeg Davaadorj, featuring ethereal women in tune with birds and nature.
OLGA DE AMARAL AT FONDATION CARTIER
Fondation Cartier unveiled the first major European retrospective of Colombian Fiber art pioneer Olga de Amaral shortly before Art Basel Paris. Olga de Amaral (b.1932, Bogota) is a pivotal figure in the Latin American art scene. The landmark exhibition at Fondation Cartier features 90 works spanning from the 1960s to the present day, with many pieces being shown outside of Colombia for the first time.
Over the past six decades, Olga de Amaral has continuously pushed the boundaries of textile art and design. Her innovative use of materials such as linen, cotton, horsehair, gesso, and palladium, along with techniques like weaving, knotting, and braiding, has led to the creation of monumental, three-dimensional pieces. Offering a fresh perspective on her career, the show highlights the different periods that have characterised Amaral’s artistic career. The exhibition runs until 16th March, 2025.
Culturalee Founder Lee Sharrock with Fondation Cartier press officer Sophie Lawani and Marie Perennes, curator of Olga de Amaral exhibition.
ART BASEL PUBLIC PROGRAM
Running in parallel with Art Basel Paris until 20th October, is the Art Basel Public Program, featuring a series of exhibitions at 10 locations across Paris, realized in collaboration with the city’s leading cultural institutions. The 10 presentations include; ‘‘Tales & Tellers’ presented by Miu Miu at the Palais d’Iéna; Carsten Höller’s Giant Triple Mushroom at the Place Vendôme; and a series of sculptural artworks exhibited between the Petit Palais and Grand Palais by John Chamberlain, Yayoi Kusama, and Jean Prouvé.
Yayoi Kusama ‘Pumpkin’. Photograph by Culturalee.
Jesse Darling at Petit Palais
Opposite the Grand Palais at the Petit Palais is an impressive solo exhibition by British Artist Jesse Darling, winner of the 2023 Turner Prize. ‘VANITAS’ is a reinterpretation of Darling’s Turner Prize exhibition ‘Come On England’, and features contorted metal barriers symbolizing the infringement of movement by power structures, with ‘Still Life’ (2017 – ongoing), a series of glass display cases holding gradually decaying flower arrangements. The project critiques privatization and economic exclusion, underscoring how both power structures and natural life cycles are vulnerable to inevitable decline and change. ‘VANITAS’ and Darling’s sculpture displayed outside the Petit Palais are part of the Art Basel Paris Public Art Program.
Jesse Darling ‘VANITAS’ at Petit Palais. Photograph by Culturalee.
