2024-04-16
The first edition of the Paris+ par Art Basel fair came to a close last week. Previous editions were held in Basel, Miami and Hong-Kong. The audience had the opportunity to see a very wide cross-section of works, from the works of acclaimed artists to compositions by emerging artists.
The fair was headquartered in the Grand Palais Éphémère, a 10 000 m2 hall completed in 2021 and slated for demolition in 2024. Shows and exhibitions were also held in a number of other venues, including Place Vendôme and the Tuileries gardens. As many as 156 top galleries from around the world had the opportunity to present themselves. The Polish accent at the fair was the Foksal Gallery and the Dawid Radziszewski Gallery. In addition to exhibitions and shows, there were also meetings and talks with personalities from the world of art and auctions. The event attracted crowds of visitors, art lovers, collectors and art dealers.
One of the most interesting artists whose work was exhibited at the fair is Kehinde Wiley. This New York-based artist has become a real sensation in the art world in recent years. Among other things, he painted the official portrait of Barack Obama and designed the American Express platinum card. The fair featured a painting entitled "The Christian Martyr Tarcisius" in which Wiley depicted a reflective black man lying in flowers. The fair also featured the work of Ewa Juszkiewicz.
In addition, a number of galleries managed to achieve considerable financial success. Pace Gallery sold Robert Motherwell's painting "Je t'aime No II" from 1955, for a price of more than $6.5 million. Kamel Mennour Gallery, on the other hand, sold two bronze sculptures by Alberto Giacometti: "Composition'' from 1927-28 for €2.75 million (approximately $2.7 million) and "Figurine'' from 1953-54 for €1.45 million (approximately $1.43 million). Gagosian and Radziszewski Gallery representatives were also commercially successful.