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Art Basel Paris will return to the renovated Grand Palais from Oct. 24–26, placing the city’s long-standing avant-garde legacy at the forefront of this year’s edition. Preview days are scheduled for Oct. 22–23, with a Vernissage open to the public on the evening of Oct. 23.
The fair, directed by Clément Delépine, will feature 206 international galleries, including 180 in its main Galeries sector. Sixty-five exhibitors will be operating spaces in France, underscoring the strength of the country’s gallery scene and its role in the global art market. According to the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2025, France ranks as the world’s fourth-largest art market, representing 7% of international sales and more than half of the European Union’s total.
Paris has long been viewed as a hub of artistic innovation, with movements such as Cubism, Surrealism, and Situationism emerging from the French capital in the 20th century. Organizers said this history will be reflected in this year’s programming, which spans rediscovered modern works and new contributions from contemporary artists.
The Galeries sector will include early 20th-century works by figures such as Fernand Léger, Marcel Duchamp, and Hannah Höch, alongside postwar contributions from Gerhard Richter, Louise Nevelson, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Exhibitors will also highlight pieces by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Giorgio Morandi, situating Paris as a meeting ground for historical and modern artistic exchanges.
Contemporary practices will also be prominently featured. Galerie Max Hetzler will present works by Albert Oehlen, Bridget Riley, Katharina Grosse, and Sabine Moritz, while Xavier Hufkens will highlight Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin, and Cecilia Vicuña. Sfeir-Semler Gallery will present works by Etel Adnan and Samia Halaby, connecting avant-garde traditions with global perspectives from the Arab world and beyond.
Parisian galleries including Nathalie Obadia, Loevenbruck, Galerie Frank Elbaz, Christophe Gaillard, and Jousse Entreprise will anchor the sector with presentations that highlight both established and emerging voices. Many will showcase artists who have lived and worked in Paris for decades, reaffirming the city’s role as a center for experimentation and exchange.
This year will also introduce 29 galleries to the fair, with 13 appearing in the Galeries sector for the first time. These newcomers include Crèvecœur (Paris), which will present a cross-generational group of artists exploring themes of impermanence and cultural identity, and The Approach (London), staging a group exhibition focused on memory, identity, and social critique. Other first-time exhibitors such as Stevenson (Cape Town, Johannesburg, Amsterdam) and Jan Kaps (Cologne) will present works that address themes of resilience, trauma, and transformation.
Beyond the Grand Palais, the fair will expand into the city with a Public Program held at nine venues. This will include Oh La La!, a re-hanging initiative directed by French filmmaker and fashion documentarian Loïc Prigent, and a Conversations Program with fashion editor Edward Enninful serving as guest curator for a day. Organizers said these programs highlight connections between Paris’ cultural industries and its broader creative community.
Art Basel Paris has positioned itself as both a celebration of Paris’s avant-garde past and a platform for contemporary innovation. Organizers said the fair seeks to deepen its dialogue with the city, using the Grand Palais’ iconic glass roof as a backdrop to highlight the relationship between art and its historic setting.
Tickets for Art Basel Paris, including general admission and entry to the Vernissage, are available exclusively at artbasel.com/paris/tickets.
