The Grand Palais, home of Art Basel Paris. Photo: CitySpot
Art & culture in Paris
Art Basel Paris 2026: Our Top 5 Pieces from the Fair
Heads up: the fair will be closed on Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25 because of the demonstrations planned in Paris. Friday, October 23 is therefore the only public day left, and the fair is expected to close at 7 pm that day, according to Sortiraparis. Check parisplus.artbasel.com for the latest information before you go.
We went to the Grand Palais (3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris) for Art Basel Paris 2026, the international fair of modern and contemporary art, which opens to the public from October 23 to 25 after two preview days. This third edition at the Grand Palais, the first under new director Karim Crippa, brings together more than 200 galleries from 41 countries and territories, with nearly 30 newcomers spread across three sectors: Galeries, Emergence and Premise. Last year’s edition drew more than 73,000 visitors, and a similar turnout can be expected. Here is our top 5 of the pieces we were able to see, each with its artist and the gallery showing it.
Nina Childress
Galerie Art Concept, Paris
A large portrait in fluorescent reds and oranges: a blonde woman with a sixties bouffant, painted with a soft, almost electric glow. It is hard to miss.
Dhewadi Hadjab
Galerie mennour, Paris
A hyperrealist scene: a woman in a red skirt reaches up to hold a heavy mauve drape against a grey wall, her face hidden by the fabric. The folds and the cast shadow are painted with striking precision.
Erwin Wurm
Lehmann Maupin
A sculpture from the Dreamers series: a figure in white trousers whose upper body has been replaced by an oversized pillow. Funny and unsettling at once.
Moka Lee
Carlos/Ishikawa, London
Born in 1996 in South Korea, Moka Lee paints portraits of strangers from photos found online. Here, a young woman with butterfly hairclips looks out with a half-smile.
Gregor Hildebrandt
Galerie Perrotin
German artist Gregor Hildebrandt builds his works from audio cassettes. Here, hundreds of them form a sunset, from deep blue through orange to red, above a dark skyline.
Bonus tip
The fair is only the start of the week: see our Paris Art Week guide to five galleries on Avenue Matignon, or our 5 iconic places for art lovers if you want more art around the Grand Palais. To explore the area around the Grand Palais, see our Champs-Élysées & Triangle d’Or guide.
The CitySpot Team
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