In front of the Grand Palace, two huge inflatable Haribo-like silhouettes greeted visitors for eye-catching photos. The work of French artist Fabrice Hyper (represented by Nathalie Obadia) brings a bit of frivolity to Art Paris, a relatively modest French gallery that attracts local art collectors. Under the spring sun beating through the historic glass nave, the atmosphere on preview day was more of a soothing sound than a dark hum; No one was dressed ostentatiously. The 28th edition of the exhibition included 160 exhibitors from about 20 countries, with 30 percent of the participants being first-timers. As usual, Art Paris offers a local spotlight on the Parisian art scene and, more broadly, the French art scene, with a few excellent art galleries among the stalls, with the exception of Galeries Lelonge and Almen Riches. The other powers, although there were spaces nearby on Rue Matignon, did not attend.
Almine Rech has been a believer in Parisian art for years. “It’s very important to show our commitment to local art,” senior director Thibaut Geoffren told the Observer. “We have a lot of artists based in Paris; we always try to include their work in our booth so they can see and promote their work.” There was a tapestry by French-Malagasy artist Joel Andrianomirisoa – who was nominated this year for the Marcel Duchamp Prize – on the wall facing the entrance to the Grand Palace, while a portrait by Inés Longeviel faced the corridor. The works in the pavilion ranged between 20,000 and 100,000 euros; The €100,000 cap was intentional. “Art Basel Paris is a much larger international crowd, and it’s a much larger fair, so it’s two different shows,” Jeffrin explained, adding – echoing many – that the herd here is French or European locally, and the prices reflect that. On the morning of the preview, Oliver Bear’s 2026 pigment was applied to the canvas Ring Plate (Swim until you don’t see the ground) Sold for £75,000-80,000; Soon after, Andrianomiarisowa’s 2025 metal and paint sculpture sold for €20,000-30,000.
According to Jeffrin, “With two spaces in Paris, we see our collectors all year round, but it’s also part of an event that brings everyone together” – which is even more important because there is “time to spend with our collectors here that you may not have time to spend at Art Basel.”
“The market in Paris has changed a lot in recent years,” said Garrett Landolt, director of Esther Schipper, at a booth down the aisle from Almine Rech. “Initially, it was quite a local market: Parisians buying in Parisian galleries. It has become very global in recent years with the emergence of Art Basel. What we have heard from some is that Art Basel Paris has become so prestigious that Art Paris has suddenly become more accessible and perhaps more interesting, because you have different price points. So you get a great diversity of visitors.” He noted not only “the quality of consultants and collectors” who come, but also that visitors were interested in the works on display at the pavilion and took time to ask questions, unlike buyers who rush in to get the works they want as is the case at Art Basel.
Interest in the pavilion focused mostly on the works of French artist Etienne Champoux (€10,000-30,000), who explores and transforms the animals (eagles and lambs) represented in religious icons purchased at auction. Chamboud mounted the works, then covered all non-animal elements with gold leaf – including the saints – so that, as a result, the animals were completely isolated and brought to the fore. In a different register nearby, Canadian-born, New York-based Sojourner Truth Parsons’s paintings are layered with colorful phosphorescent paints—her works now on view in the gallery’s Parisian space, located in the inner courtyard within Place Vendôme. Everything in the pavilion was under €50,000, with German artist Matti Braun being the most expensive at €48,000. The gallery is otherwise participating in all Art Basel fairs, as well as Art Jakarta, Westbund, and Frieze Seoul.
Galerie Pol Lemétais was at Art Paris for the first time with a unique solo exhibition of remixed tapestries by Aurélia Jaubert. Located in Toulouse in southwest France, the gallery represents raw art artists and participates in Outside Art in New York and Outside Art in Paris. Art Paris was a big leap. Joubert is an artist whose work is described by gallery representative Aurélie Fourier as “connected to contemporary art, but with a contradiction,” due to her unusual techniques, for which she remixes embroidery and textiles and assembles them using found materials – antique furnishings, sewing accessories – sourced from charity shops or garage sales. The prices of the six large works on display on the platform, produced between 2020 and 2025, ranged between €13,000 and €25,000; Nothing was sold on the day of the preview, but a sale for €15,000 was made the next day. A selection of Joubert’s pieces is on display in Paris at Halle Saint-Pierre, in the 18th arrondissement, in a space dedicated to raw art.
Beirut-based Saleh Barakat Gallery has returned to Art Paris, where it has participated about six times. “Paris has this aura; it’s important to be present here,” said the owner of the gallery that bears his name. But Art Paris in particular is more “Franco-French” and closer to the spirit of the fair – “our artists are very engaged… [politically committed]“—instead of “conceptual art, global art.” Barakat added that Art Paris complements its “autumn appointment” with its spring counterpart. (The Lebanese fair participated in Art Basel Paris and Doha, Art Dubai and Abu Dhabi Art.) In the pavilion, there were ceramics by Hala Matta, custom rugs by Sarah Bader Schmidt, and a wonderful, lively canvas by Nabil Nahas. Prices for pieces ranged from €800 for small figures (“We Are Not Plaintiffs,” Barakat pointed out), with everything else set at a starting price of 2,000 euros and a maximum of around 10,000 euros.
At a higher level, Galerie Prima – which has been open for a year and a half – displays the works of two painters: Bryce Delblanc (still-life drawings priced between 6,000 and 9,000 euros) and Gaspard Gérard d’Albecin (figurative works inspired by online images and fashion editorials, priced between 3,500 and 10,000 euros). It is part of the Promises sector in the upper balcony on the south side of the Grand Palais, dedicated to exhibitions created less than a decade ago and selected by curator Marc Donnadieu, also a member of the Art Paris selection committee. Here, international spaces exist on a larger scale than downstairs, with examples from Australia, Morocco and Singapore.
It’s Prima’s second time at the show; The gallery sold Delplanque’s paintings and brought a new vision to the ceramic murals of Héloïse Rival in 2025. Other exhibitions they have participated in include the Invited section of Art Brussels and Asia Now in Paris, although they are interested in Paris Internationale and Artissima. The founding duo spent more than a decade at the French gallery Fils du Calvaire, which has participated in Art Paris for several editions with successful results (and had a pavilion again this year), fostering the interest of the next generation. Co-founder Letitia Ferrer told the Observer that she and her partner have “a particular taste in photography, but it always raises questions… something a little strange, but also semantic.” Two of d’Albecin’s works had been pre-sold before the fair (for €4,500 and €6,000), while Delblanc was showcasing a new series: a tribute to the personal possessions of author Joan Didion that had been sold at auction, including collections of books by William F. Buckley Jr. and a Houston Junior League cookbook.
As with any exhibition, this one caters to a wide range of tastes. Works by artists who have appeared in popular galleries right next door are looked at here: two Nan Goldin Cibachromes from 2000 and 2013 at Yvonne Lambert and a 2009 rhinestone-encrusted work by Mickalene Thomas (Kerry on2009) in the Opera Hall. There’s also an oversized cast iron teapot by Joana Vasconcelos that visitors clamor to sit in at Gowen Contemporary and a chilling oil portrait of Elon Musk at Galerie Idéale by Stéphane Pencréac’h. It takes all types.
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