Karim Crippa takes charge of Art Basel Paris for 2026 Grand Palais show
Karim Crippa is the director of Art Basel Paris. He took up the role on 1 November 2025, Art Basel said when it announced the appointment. He now leads the fair into its 2026 edition.
He was not an outsider. Crippa had spent eight years working inside Art Basel before stepping into the Paris job, Art Basel said in September 2026. That kind of back history counts. A fair director helps decide which galleries get in, how the hall is laid out and what free public displays run alongside the selling stands.
Art Basel Paris itself is still young. It launched in 2022, which makes the 2026 show its fifth edition. Short run. Fast growth.
The 2026 edition returns to the Grand Palais in Paris, the historic glass-roofed exhibition hall in the centre of the city, under Crippa's direction. Art Basel has now announced the gallery list for that show.
The numbers are large. The fair brings together 211 exhibitors, meaning galleries and dealers showing and selling work, from 41 countries. Expect Paris galleries next to booths flown in from Asia, the Americas, Africa and across Europe. Visitors walk the aisles. Dealers talk. Works sell on the spot or through follow-up deals after the fair.
Crippa has discussed the 2026 plans in an interview with Ocula, the art publication, as the fair's new head.
What makes this stand out for a first-time visitor is the scale in one building. One ticket gives access to hundreds of gallery displays, from painting and sculpture to photography, video and craft. You do not need to know the market to walk in. You just need comfortable shoes.
