Art Basel Paris 2024: solid first sales

“It’s wonderful. We’re already on our third hang-up”rejoices Michel Rein this Thursday, October 17, just one hour after the opening to the public of Art Basel Paris. Edgar Sarin and Agnès Thurnauer had already been sold by the Parisian gallery owner, while a work by Jimmie Durham was about to sell for 300,000 to 500,000 euros. In the dapper Grand Palais, the stands, overall less crowded than usual and more “curated”, benefit from incomparable natural light. After a well-attended first VIP day, the general impression on D+2 is very positive. Many say it: “Paris is going to have the biggest fair in the world”, “Art Basel Paris will supplant Art Basel in Basel”… New Yorker Gladstone sold an accumulation of Mike Kelley objects for $2 million. While awaiting the sale of a very beautiful cut-out canvas by Tom Wesselmann for $4.5 million, Almine Rech has already sold several pieces by Claire Tabouret ($50,000-60,000) and Resonance Paintings of Oliver Beer at $45,000. Great satisfaction also for Christophe Gaillard, who sold paintings by Hélène Delprat to private collections (35 to 180,000 euros) and is delighted with the high proportion of foreign visitors.

Into the green

Many note the presence of numerous curious people from the American and Asian continents. Cécile Fakhoury, who dedicates her stand to Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien, is pleased with the sale to institutions, particularly private ones, of several raffia, stone and aluminum hangings. The Beirutian Marfa’ was able to make the trip to Paris despite the terrible context of the war: the sculptures by the Lebanese Paola Yacoub (9,000-13,000 euros) attracted several institutions. Air de Paris sold several small formats, by Emma McIntyre ($20,000-25,000) and Guy de Cointet at $20,000, and a GraDiva diptych sculpture by Flint Jamison ($35,000). The big picture Safe space for a passing History_1888 estatic by Gaëlle Choisne, winner of the 2024 Duchamp Prize, has not yet found a buyer but is attracting a lot of interest.

The Italian Cardi, whose stand with minimalist paintings and sculptures brings together beautiful pieces by Jannis Kounellis, Gianpietro Carlesso, Daniel Buren and Donald Judd, sold a good part of her works, between 300,000 and 1 million euros. The German-speaking galleries are also in the green. Notable sales include the sold-out by Tschabalala Self (160,000-325,000 dollars) at Eva Presenhuber, a Sheila Hicks at 360,000 dollars at Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, paintings by Thomas Ruff (85,000 euros each) and several prints by Bernd and Hilla Becher at 20,000 euros at Konrad Fischer. The American Blum (formerly Blum & Poe) has already restocked its walls with new paintings by Asuka Anastacia Ogawa ($90,000-160,000), sold during the VIP preview, while Kukje, the only Korean gallery, repeats at Grand Palais its success from Frieze London the previous week. Centered around the avant-garde group Dansaekhwa, its stand saw a Lee Ufan sell for around a million dollars and a painting by Ha Chong-Hyun for $240,000, as well as a sculpture by Jean-Michel Othoniel for $120,000. dollars.

A little away, the upstairs galleries are “more peaceful, regrets one of them. Collectors are not yet climbing the stairs ». “We have fewer audiences, but they are of quality and stay on the stand for a long time”notes Anne Barrault, who presents works by Euridice Zaituna Kala and Liv Schulman (between 3,000 and 18,000 euros). In the emerging sector, the Exo Exo gallery is the only one to show video, with Lou Fauroux. At The Pill, Nil Yalter’s large installation (380,000 euros) was waiting for an institution to confirm its interest.

Various purchases

Among the buyers, Véronique and Claude Bonnin, president of ADIAF, purchased the painting from mor charpentier The Palmeraie (2024, 12,000-15,000 euros) by Rayan Yasmineh, a 28-year-old Lebanese-Palestinian artist. The couple of collectors were seduced by the way in which the artist mixes “the oriental tradition of miniatures, history painting and geopolitical news”. A Canadian collector who prefers to remain anonymous purchased a wooden sculpture by Agustín Cárdenas (1927-2001) on the very beautiful stand of the New York gallery Di Donna. Collectors Iordanis Kerenidis and Piergiorgio Pepe, for their part, acquired Passive Lens (IV)a minimal piece composed of frosted film, lens and plexiglass by Pierre Allain, 26 years old, to whom the Parisian gallery Petrine devotes its stand in the Emergence sector.