The majestic Grand Palais quickly filled with a steady stream of art lovers there for Art Basel Paris’ VIP preview day. The atmosphere was positive and the mood upbeat, spurring healthy sales and lively negotiations from the early hours. Collectors and professionals from across the globe descended on the preview, with many traveling from the Americas and Asia. Among the notable attendees were Chloe Sevigny, Natalie Portman, Owen Wilson, Princess Maria-Anunciata von Liechtenstein, Queen Rania of Jordan, Raf Simons, Sheikha Mayassa, Sheikha Nawar Al Qassimi, Philip Tinari, Massimiliano Gioni, Adrian Cheng, George Economou, Maya Hoffmann and Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, to name a few.
At the entrance, Gladstone’s booth greeted fairgoers with a monumental Dubuffet hanging on the wall, juxtaposed with a sculpture by Sarah Lucas and drawings by Marisa Merz, an homage to the Arte Povera artists celebrated in the show at La Bourse—Pinault Collection. Pace Gallery stood out with “Mystical Sugar,” curated by Paulina Olowska, featuring an extensive work that dominated the booth alongside pieces by Louise Nevelson, Kiki Smith and Lucas Samaras. In the first few hours, all four of Olowska’s paintings sold, as did several sculptures by Nevelson and Smith. In the backroom, Lee Ufan’s Response from 2024 led sales, complementing works by Ufan, Agnes Pelton, Max Ernst, Leonor Fini and Alexander Calder.
Next door, Blum & Poe presented a solo booth of Asuka Anastacia Ogawa, which sold out by the afternoon, with prices ranging from $22,000 to $100,000. Not far away, Eva Presenhuber’s solo presentation of new works and furniture by Tschabalala Self also sold out in the early hours, with prices ranging from $175,000 to $320,000. Jeffrey Deitch curated a booth featuring rarely seen artists like Myrlande Constant and Ella Kruglyanska, with a focus on Judy Chicago and a standout selection of Rammellzee works, ahead of his upcoming show in NYC.
P·P·O·W saw strong results, selling all of its Grace Carney pieces in the $30,000 to $40,000 range, along with a central piece, a large table with a hand-painted tablecloth and porcelain vases by Ann Agee, sold as a pair for $14,000-18,000. MASSIMODECARLO also did brisk work, selling twenty-five pieces on the first day, including a Matthew Wong painting consigned directly from the estate, presented alongside a work by Salvo. Other sales included a piece by Dominique Fung ($36,000), various works by Jean-Marie Appriou, two by Tomoo Gokita, three by France-Lise McGurn and one by artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset, who currently have a museum exhibition at Le Musée D’Orsay.
Among the notable sales on the first day, White Cube sold a Julie Mehretu work for $9.5 million, a Howardena Pindell piece for $1.75 million and a Lucio Fontana slash for $1.3 million.
Standing out in the Hauser & Wirth booth was a striking spider by Louise Bourgeois, paired with a powerful Ed Clark, which reportedly sold by the end of the day for $950,000. Also sold was a work by Barbara Chase Riboud for $2.2 million and a large Mark Bradford for $3.5 million. Of particular interest, the external wall featured a large Jeffrey Gibson, hinting at a potential new collaboration with the gallery, while the other wall showcased a vibrant, explosive work by Frank Bowling. Meanwhile, Lisson Gallery sold two pieces by Colombian artist Olga de Amaral—one for $800,000 and the other for $400,000—both to a private U.S. collection. The sales coincided with the artist’s current show at Foundation Cartier in Paris, one of many exhibitions opening alongside Art Basel Paris.
In celebration of Surrealism’s 100th anniversary, many booths honored artists from the movement in the city where it began. Di Donna offered a beautiful dialogue between Jean Tanguy and Wilfredo Lam, while Nahmad devoted their entire booth to works by Dalí, Picabia, Max Ernst, Tanguy, De Chirico, Picasso and Magritte, along with a stunning floating mobile by Calder. In the masterworks section, featuring pieces priced in the five- to six-digit range, Van De Weghe presented a 1964 Pablo Picasso and a 1985 Great American Nude by Tom Wesselmann, riding the wave of momentum from the “Pop Forever” show at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Tornabuoni’s booth featured a standout monumental map by Alighiero Boetti, covering an entire wall. New York dealer Aquavella showcased a series of masterpieces by Fontana, De Kooning, Basquiat and Thiebaud, with a gallery representative telling Observer that “a lot of good collectors” had come through throughout the morning.
Among the best-curated booths, The Modern Institute from Glasgow dedicated its entire presentation to a site-specific, immersive installation by artist Martin Boyce, titled Before Behind Between Above Below. Combining various works and elements, Boyce created a liminal interior space exploring the boundary between the real and imagined and the collapse of architecture and nature. The installation drew inspiration from Jan and Joël Martel’s cubist trees, first exhibited at the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925, right in front of the Grand Palais.
Once the ground floor became too crowded to navigate, many collectors sought breathing room in the upstairs sections, where more space allowed for new discoveries, particularly in the terrace corridor of the “Emergence” section. A standout in this area was the experimental Jakarta-based gallery Rho Projects, showcasing Kei Imazu’s intriguing blend of historical memory, traces,and digital structures (priced between $15,000 and $20,000). Another highlight was a large, narrative-rich painting by young Polish artist Jeh Eustachy Wilsky, presented by Piktogram, stretching across the entire booth.
Upstairs also housed a range of thriving galleries, including Karma, Clearing, Mariane Ibrahim, Sultana and Société. Société’s booth had a future-forward feel, featuring Trisha Baga’s pictorial explorations of the digital realm and a divinatory video by Lu Yang. Nearby, Ortuzar Projects presented a solo booth of Takako Yamaguchi, fresh from the Whitney Biennial, which quickly attracted buyers. With prices set at $300,000, only three works remained by midday.
Throughout the VIP day at Art Basel Paris, the atmosphere was effervescent, proving that collectors are still eager and excited about bold new moves—especially with this being the first Art Basel in its new, opulent historic venue, which truly has no architectural equal worldwide.
Design Miami Paris also saw a successful opening, launching its second edition the day before with a similarly packed VIP reception at L’Hôtel de Maisons. Inside the lavish 18th-century mansion, exhibitors presented a curated selection of historic and contemporary collectible designs, with strong sales early on. Notably, Galerie Downtown-LAFFANOUR (Paris) sold a full-scale Jean Prouvé post-war prefabricated house (1946) for over one million euros.
Among the standout presentations, SCAD took over the elegant staircase with a cascade of abstract forms and vivid colors in a fiber site-specific installation by artist and alumna Trish Andersen. The school also showcased the creative talents of alumni Lærke Lillelund, Bradley Bowers and Eny Lee Parker. Other highlights included fashion designer Rick Owens’ striking pair of Tomb Chairs in the gardens, presented by Salon 94 Design (New York), alongside rare pieces by Gaetano Pesce, such as his Palladio Cabinet (Milk colored prototype) (2007) and Flower Origami Table (2023). The award for “Best Gallery Presentation at Design Miami Paris 2024” went to Galerie Gastou (Paris) and Galerie Desprez-Bréhéret (Paris), which brought a significant collection of minimalist works by Jean Touret in wood and iron, shown in dialogue with contemporary pieces by Agnès Debizet.