The sun lights up the return of Art Basel to the Grand Palais

Since the penultimate edition of the Fiac in 2019, no Art fair has been held at the Grand Palais, which reopened its doors after five years of work. The setting is breathtaking, especially since we find the building not as we left it, but in a much better light. The pale pink floor has been restored, the parquet floor has been installed in the upstairs galleries, we appreciate the open exterior terrace, the circulation along the high balconies, from which we overlook the nave and of course the gleaming glass roof .

The expected “wow” effect was therefore there for the opening of this third edition of Art Basel Paris. It was even accentuated by the brightness of a radiant day, to the point that when the sun reached its zenith, one could, under the nave, feel like an ant placed under a magnifying glass. But regardless, the Parisian gallery owners, who constitute less than a quarter of the exhibitors, were unanimous in rejoicing at the good energy of this international meeting.

Because there was a crowd for this opening event. “The great collectors, particularly the Americans, are very present”declared Thaddaeus Ropac. Contemporary art galleries, from Almine Rech to David Zwirner, have all communicated about sales, some significant, for example “the placement of one of the centerpieces of the White Cube stand, the painting Insile (2013) by Julie Mehretu for $9.5 million (€8.9 million)”. The galleries of the secondary market have remained more discreet.

At midday, Perrotin announced the sale of two thirds of the works on its stand, notably “a painting by Cristina BanBan at $115,000 (€108,000), a set of works by Lee Bae between €120,000 and €150,000”. Kamel Mennour assured, for his part, that he had notably sold two beautiful pieces from his stand, Untitled (Shiner)1989, by Robert Rauschenberg and a large painting by Lee Ufan from 2007. The bronze by Barbara Chase-Riboud found a buyer for $2.2 million (€2.1 million) at Hauser & Wirth, while Marc Payot, the founder of the mega Swiss gallery, was pleased to see Paris doing well “even more so at a time when the global art trade has become irrefutably digital”.

We will therefore not know if business continues to be done in person. But what is certain is that, as gallery owner Marcelle Alix remarked, “anything that can have a favorable influence on sales is welcome”. The gallery stand, located upstairs, benefited from the late morning crowds. “A real tidal wave”also affirms Guillaume Sultana. “And even if there are a little fewer people than in the nave, the people who go up show a curiosity which is already in itself a form of interest”wants to believe Anne Barrault.