Paris+ par Art Basel
Paris+ par Art Basel was the name of an art fair at Paris’s that ran in 2022 and 2023 in a temporary space before being rebranded Art Basel Paris in 2024 as it moved to the renovated Grand Palais exhibition hall.[1][2]
Paris+ par Art Basel took over a calendar slot traditionally occupied by Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain, known as FIAC, which was France’s flagship art festival that had run for almost five decades, much of it in the Grand Palais.[3] The change was made in a surprise announcement by the management of the Grand Palais in January 2022.[4][5]
Reaction
[edit]The announcement that the native-run FIAC being displaced by a Swiss-managed art fair was met with shock and ambivalence by the Paris-based art community. Philippe Boutté, the gallery director of Magnin-A, called it “sad and violent.”[6]
In response to the change, the organizers of FIAC, RX Group, released a statement that it: "strongly regrets this decision taken abruptly by the public institution, at the end of a procedure which RX believes was hasty and flawed."[7] Michel Filzi, the president of RX France, said in the statement, “This is a huge disappointment for our teams and all the clients and partners who support us."[7]
Leadership
[edit]The first director of the event was Clément Delépine, who was the former co-director of Paris Internationale, a highly regarded fair for emerging artists.[1]
Art Basel also announced that Jennifer Flay, the long-serving director of FIAC, would join the Paris+’s management team as president of the fair’s advisory board in March 2023.[1]
Name
[edit]The name of the fair, which was widely derided as being awkward, was in part the original seven-year contract between Grand Palais management and Art Basel stipulated that the event could not be called “Art Basel, Paris.”[1]
In response, the French branding agency Yorgo & Company helped the Swiss organizers create the name “Paris+”, which was officially pronounced paree ploos. Despite the terms of the original contract, the fair was rebranded Art Basel Paris by 2024.[8]
Differences with FIAC
[edit]Paris+ par Art Basel attracted higher-end galleries and higher-priced works than FIAC was known for.[3] Gallerists said that they had sale prices they had never experienced in the FIAC days.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Reyburn, Scott (2022-03-24). "France's New Art Fair Is Called 'Paris+'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ a b Reyburn, Scott (2024-10-18). "The Ultrarich Descend on Paris as Art Basel Comes to Town". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ a b Reyburn, Scott (2022-10-20). "Paris+ Art Fair Opens: More Corporate, Less French". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ Loos, Ted (2023-10-17). "In Its Second Outing, Paris+ by Art Basel Embraces Its Frenchness". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ Freeman, Nate (2025-05-23). "Will Art Basel Qatar Shred the February Art-World Order?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ Sansom, Anna (2022-01-27). "As They Process Art Basel's 'Sad and Violent' Displacement of FIAC, Parisian Gallerists Are Split Between Concern and Optimism". Artnet News. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ a b Marshall, Alex (2022-01-26). "Art Basel to Run New Paris Art Fair. Just Don't Call it 'Art Basel Paris.'". New York Times.
- ^ Loos, Ted (2024-10-11). "Art Basel Paris Returns Larger, and More French, Than Ever". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-21.