In front of the Grand Palais, two colossal inflatable Haribo-like silhouettes greeted visitors for great photos. The work of the French artist Fabrice Hyber (represented by Nathalie Obadiah) introduced some levity at Art Paris, a relatively low-key French fair that appeals to local collectors. Under a spring sun beating down on the historic glass nave, the atmosphere on the previous day was more of a soothing hum than a fizzy one; no one was wearing revealing clothing. The 28th edition of the fair brought 160 galleries from around 20 countries, with 30 percent participating for the first time. As usual, Art Paris offers a local spotlight of the Parisian, and more broadly French, art scene, with a few blue chip galleries between the booths, excluding Lelong Gallery AND Almine Rech. Other energy buildings, despite having spaces nearby on Avenue Matignon, did not participate.
Almine Rech has been an Art Paris loyalist for years. “It is very important to show our commitment to local art,” senior director Thibault Geffrin said 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.” A textile piece by the French-Malagasy artist Joel Andrianomearisoa—nominated this year for the Marcel Duchamp Prize—was on the wall opposite the entrance to the Grand Palais, while a portrait painting by Inès Longevial in front of the crossing. Works on the stand ranged from €20,000-€100,000; the €100,000 cap was deliberate. “Art Basel Paris is a much more international crowd and it’s a much bigger fair, so it’s two different presentations,” Geffrin explained, adding — and echoing many — that the flock here is French or more European, and the prices reflect that. In the morning before, Oliver beer2026 Framed Pigment on Canvas Resonance Painting (Swim until you can’t see land) sold for £75,000-80,000; not long after, Andrianomearisoa’s 2025 metal and paint sculpture sold for €20,000-30,000.
According to Geffrin, “having two spaces in Paris, we see our collectors all year round, but it’s also part of an event that brings everyone together” – all the more worthwhile as there’s “time to spend with our collectors here that you might not have time to spend at Art Basel”.
“The market in Paris has changed a lot in recent years,” he reflects Garrett Landoltdirector at Esther Schipper, in a booth down the aisle from Almine Rech. “It was, at first, quite a local market: Parisians buying in Parisian galleries. It’s become so international in recent years with the advent of Art Basel. What we’ve heard from some is that Art Basel Paris has just become so prestigious that Art Paris is suddenly more accessible and maybe more interesting because you have different price points. So you have a huge variety of visitors.” He noted not only the “quality of advisers and collectors” who came, but also that visitors were curious about the works at the booth and took time to ask questions, as opposed to buyers rushing to get the works they want like at Art Basel.
The curiosity at the stand was centered on the work of the French artist Etienne Chambaud (€10,000-€30,000), which explores the animals (eagle, lamb) represented in religious icons bought at auction and transformed. Chambaud has a restorer stabilize the works, then cover all the non-animal elements in gold leaf – including the saints – so that, as a result, the animals are completely isolated and in the foreground. At another registry nearby, based in New York of Canadian origin Sojourner Truth Parsonsthe canvases are layered with colors in phosphorescent paints—her work is now on view in the gallery’s Parisian space, located in an interior courtyard within the Place Vendôme. Everything on the stand was under 50,000 euros, with German artist Matty Brown being the most expensive at €48,000. Alternatively, the gallery participates in all Art Basel fairs, plus Art Jakarta, West Bund and Frieze Seoul.
Paul Lemais Gallery was at Art Paris for the first time with a unique monographic exhibition of mixed tapestries from Aurélia Jaubert. Based in Toulouse in southwestern France, the gallery represents brut art artists and participates in the Outsider Art Fair in New York and Outsider Art in Paris; Art Paris was a bit jumpy. Jaubert is a representative artist whose work gallery Aurelie Fourrier described as “related to contemporary art, but with an incongruity”, given her unusual techniques, which mix and collage embroidery and textiles using found materials – old tapestries, sewing accessories – sourced from charity shops or garage sales. The six large works on the stand, executed between 2020 and 2025, were priced at €13,000-25,000; nothing was sold the day before, but a sale for €15,000 was made the next day. A selection of Jaubert’s pieces are on view in Paris at the Halle Saint Pierre, in the 18th arrondissement, in a space dedicated to art brut.
based in Beirut Saleh Barakat Gallery had returned to Art Paris, having attended about half a dozen times. “Paris has that halo; it’s important to be present here,” said the titular gallerist. But Art Paris in particular is more “Franco-Français” and closer to the spirit of the gallery – “our artists are very engaged (politically committed)” – rather than “conceptual art, global art”. Barakat added that Art Paris ends the “autumn meeting” with a spring counterpart. (The Lebanese gallery had participated in Art Basel Paris and Doha, Art Dubai and Abu Dhabi Art.) The stand featured ceramics from Slippery carpetcustom rugs from Sara Badr Schmidt and a wonderful, vibrant canvas from Nabil Nahas. Pieces ranged from €800 for small formats (“We’re not pretentious,” Barakat noted), with everything else marked from €2,000 and caps around €10,000.
One level up, Gallery Prima– which has been open for a year and a half, exhibits the work of two painters: Bryce Delplanque (quiet fortunes at a price of 6000-9000€) and Gaspard Girard d’Albissin (figurative works inspired by online images and fashion editorials priced at €3500-10000). They are part of the Promises sector on the upper balcony on the south side of the Grand Palais, dedicated to galleries created less than a decade ago and selected by the curator Marc Donnadieuwho is also a member of the Art Paris selection committee. Here, there are more broadly international spaces than downstairs, with examples from Australia, Morocco and Singapore.
It is Prima’s second time at the fair; the gallery sold Delplanque’s paintings and achieved new visibility for Héloïse Rivalceramic murals of 2025. Other fairs they have participated in include the guest section at Art Brussels and Asia Now in Paris, although they are intrigued by Paris Internationale and Artissima. The founding duo spent over a decade at the French gallery Daughters of Calvarywhich participated in Art Paris for several editions with successful results (and had a stand again this year), strengthening their interest of the next generation. co Laetitia Ferrer told the Observer that she and her collaborator have “a taste in particular for figuration, but a taste that always provokes questions … something slightly strange, but also semantic.” Two works by d’Albissin were sold before the fair (for €4,500 and €6,000), while Delplanque was showing a new series: a tribute to the author. Joan DidionPersonal items sold at auction, including stacks of books written by William F. Buckley Jr. and the Houston Junior League Cookbook.
As with any fair, this one caters to a wide range of tastes. Works by artists featured in successful exhibitions nearby were seen here: there are two Nan Goldin Cibachromes from 2000 and 2013 at Yvon Lambert and a fake 2009 work from Mickalene Thomas (Carrie Is2009) in Opera Gallery. There is also a trick cast iron teapot Joana Vasconcelos in which visitors clamor to be seated Gowen Contemporary and a bone-chilling oil portrait of Elon Musk IN The ideal gallery BY Stéphane Pencréac’h. It takes all kinds.
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