Is Paris the new London? The Art Partners review of Paris + and fall exhibition guide

By Polina Epinatyeva

For a very long time, Paris has been known as an indisputable cultural capital. Throughout most of the nineteenth century and for much of the twentieth, Paris’s position as the global art centre has been uncontested: the beauty of the city, its amazing cultural heritage, liberal politics, as well as the low cost of living made it a magnet for artists from all over the world. During the Second World War, New York overtook Paris to become the epicentre of Western art and has remained as such ever since. In the 1980s it also emerged as the world’s capital for buying and selling art. The art market grew in parallel with the U.S. economy and served as an outlet for the excess capital generated on Wall Street. Certainly, Europe lacked its own cultural capital and London in the 90s became the European hub for both art commerce and cultural exchange. With the lowest import VATs on art in Europe, free passage of goods between the UK and Europe, as well as limited bureaucracy and low shipping costs, London attracted offshore billionaires, big-ticket auctions and prominent galleries, making it an ultimate destination for European art lovers and collectors.

*Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection*

Paris, however, has always had the artistic pedigree and its slightly higher import VATs of 5.5% on artworks and antiques after Brexit seem more appealing than ever. Even some of the leading market players are re-examining the role of London as an international centre for art. For example, art dealer and gallerist Marian Goodman has completely shifted her focus to Paris, which she has already had a deep love for. This became even more apparent when the gallery’s London location closed in 2020 and Paris became its only hub in Europe.

Overall, the French capital’s concentration of world-leading museums, foundations, galleries and high-powered collectors, as well as the long history of artistic traditions has everything it takes to challenge London as Europe’s future art capital. No surprise that ArtBasel has decided to select Paris as the most favoured destination for its new art fair. The fair titled Paris + Art Basel has finally made it to the French capital after months of anticipation. Hundreds of the world’s leading galleries were welcomed including those that have just appeared at Frieze London. Such transformational changes in the market’s structure don’t happen in the art world often, hence we must acknowledge them.

It was insisted by the French art community that Paris + would retain its unique French flavour and not be branded as Art Basel Paris, as it already happened in Miami and Hong Kong. The new high-profile fair was indeed a success this year and in 2024 it will become even more of a 'must-attend' event as it will move to the spectacular 122-year-old Belle Èpoque-era Grand Palais, which is currently under renovation. Interestingly, the Parisian art scene has already been rather busy, especially with the outflow of businesses and collectors from London. There was an important annual FIAC fair, as well as other smaller fairs mainly focused on bringing together younger and more experimental galleries. However, the new high-profile fair, which took over FIAC’s location and dates, has provided an even further boost to the Parisian art scene and attracted over 40,000 attendees from all over the world. FIAC has been the main contemporary event in France for over 40 years, loved and appreciated by local and European market players. Hence, it came as no surprise that the Swiss art fair titan had its eye on it! The new Paris + fair is strongly focused on building bridges between the Parisian art scene and the international art market. This year, some internationally reputable galleries have confirmed deals in excess of 1 million USD and among them were pieces by celebrity artists such as Georg Baselitz and Alex Katz. Art Basel has the necessary expertise and resources to annually put together a strong program of exclusive receptions, talks, studio visits and museum shows for the fair’s guests, which can attract a new and more diverse wave of collectors to the city. Even though this year was the fair’s first, in a temporary space and during a time of difficult geopolitical climate, it managed to attract artworks in some cases even more unique than those presented at Frieze London. Think about the spectacular 1963 ‘Fino di Dio’ canvas by Lucio Fontana, a 1992 self-portrait by Martin Kippenberger or a 1989 painting ‘Border’ by Joan Mitchell. Paris + demonstrates a somehow smarter approach than that of Frieze or other European fairs, with fewer galleries and a higher concentration of top works by key artists, the fair has already proved to be the new ultimate meeting place for the global art community!

*Image Courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim Gallery*

Paris is making a grand comeback not only due to the international blue-chip galleries, dealers and top collectors that the new fair and the overall market stability are attracting. The city is also benefiting significantly from several major new museums, such as the Louis Vuitton Foundation and Bourse de Commence, both founded by luxury goods tycoons. Paris finally gains an edge over London as the post-Brexit customs regulations make it much easier for Paris to host blockbuster shows of European artists and artworks held in renowned European private and public collections. Furthermore, Paris Fashion week is known for drawing in the famous and the fashionable from all over the globe, making the city even more appealing to the art world. It means new potential clients, new visitors and even excellent opportunities for collaborations between the two worlds of art and fashion, which have always both been catalysts for positive change and growth.

*Image Courtesy of AFP Photo and Bertrand Guay*

To demonstrate how exactly Paris is reclaiming its position within the international art circuit, we have prepared a list of some fantastic exhibitions and collections that those of you who visited Paris + already had an opportunity to explore. Although, they will be open to visitors throughout this autumn and if you haven’t visited Paris already, please do so during this incredibly busy and exciting cultural season.

Monet - Mitchell at Foundation Louis Vuitton - on view until the 21st of February 2023

Like much else in the art market, when it comes to abstract expressionism the artists that still tend to dominate all the conversations are Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. This attitude of the majority of art lovers is very difficult to change even though there were numerous female artists who were just as crucial to the movement, consider Helen Frankenthaler, Elaine de Kooning and Lee Krasner.

Foundation Louis Vuitton’s new exhibition of works by Joan Mitchell, one of the most important female artists of the post-war era in America, presented on equal with works by a beloved impressionist master Clause Monet is another significant victory for the art world of the 21st century where gender equality must no longer be an issue.

Mitchell and Monet both approached landscapes very similarly and both artists were united by the methods they used to recreate nature. What’s more, both artists have even lived and worked in the same place, Giverny. They found the calmness and unique pace of the French countryside to be essential to the creative process. It is a wonderful opportunity for the visitor to see Monet’s and Mitchell’s works side by side and to find connections between the ways both artists represented water or how Mitchell was inspired by Monet’s use of purples and blues and how she even paid homage to Monet’s blues in her breathtaking triptych ‘Edrite Fried’ (1981).

*Image Courtesy of Anri Sala, Marian Goodman Gallery, Pinault Collection and Aurélien Mole.*

The Bourse de Commence - Pinault Collection

After 4 years of restoration and complete transformation, the Bourse de Commence - Pinault Collection opened to the public this past spring. The historical building that was revitalised by a renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando is located in the heart of Paris. It houses a remarkable collection of modern and contemporary art that François Pinault was meticulously assembling for over 40 years.

To allow as many people as possible to see, understand and communicate about the collection that reflects the scope and diversity of our time the new museum offers an extensive programme of temporary exhibitions, film screenings, concerts and performances. For instance, currently, the museum displays an immersive, cosmic, and nocturnal work by Anri Sala, an Albanian video artist, who represented France at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013.

Ugo Rondinone at Petit Palais - on view until the 8th of January 2023

Swiss celebrity artist Ugo Rondinone takes over the prestigious halls of the Petit Palais with two sets of works and a new monumental video installation. The show is titled ‘the water is a poem unwritten by the air no. the earth is a poem unwritten by the fire’, which is a quote from a poem by John Giorno, Rondinone’s partner until the latter’s death in 2019. The artist once again exceptionally well addresses the connection between the human body and the elements of nature, which has been a recurring theme in his work since the 1980s. Earth, sky, air, water, and fire are associated with sleeping and moving beings and are invoked in all the artworks.

Oskar Kokoschka at the Musèe D’Art Moderne De Paris - on view until 12th of February 2023

This exhibition is the first Paris retrospective devoted to Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka. The exhibition’s name ‘Enfant terrible in Vienna’ reflects the rebellious character of the artist and his works. It is known that many young rebels in the art world burn out early and never get a chance to grow old, this was not the case with Kokoschka. From the iconoclastic young man with a slightly aggressive imagination and a talent for provocation, he seems to have matured and grown old gracefully. The new exhibition demonstrates the whole process of Kokoschka’s artistic growth and development. He was a portraitist of Viennese society who managed to highlight the interiority of his models with unparalleled accuracy. The Parisian exhibition brought together a unique selection of the 150 most significant works by Oscar Kokoschka from the most important European and American collections.