Beyond the Grand Palais: Tracey Emin Bronzes and a Canal-Side Fair Join Art Basel Paris
Three monumental bronze sculptures by Tracey Emin now stand outside the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, a museum of architecture and heritage near the Place du Trocadéro in Paris. The London gallery White Cube presents the works on the Parvis des droits de l'homme, a public square outside the museum, as part of the public programme of Art Basel Paris.
The bronzes are titled I Lay Here for You (2018), I Followed You to the End (2024) and I Will Not Be Alone (2025). Emin wrote on Instagram on 19 October that she had come to Paris after her mother's death and had found comfort in its museums, The Art Newspaper reported.
The main fair sits in the Grand Palais, a large exhibition hall on Avenue Winston Churchill that has recently been renovated. Art Basel's website describes the event as bringing together more than 200 galleries from over 40 countries and territories. Its main sector, called Galeries, is for galleries that specialise in modern and contemporary art. Visitor hours on Friday to Sunday, 23 to 25 October, run from 11am to 7pm, according to Art Basel's visitor information.
Across the river from the Grand Palais, the twelfth Paris Internationale opened on Quai de Valmy in the Canal Saint-Martin district. The fair has 56 galleries and five non-profit spaces. It champions emerging galleries, which are dealers still early in building their reputations, and it moves to a different venue each year. It runs until 24 October.
Several galleries brought artists from outside Paris. The Breeder, based in Athens, showed works by Greek artist Kostis Velonis and Eleni Pitari-Pangalou. Kendall Koppe, from Glasgow, showed work by Scottish artist Keith Farquhar. Lucy Beech's works were shown alongside the Champ Lacombe gallery.
Talks run alongside the displays. On 23 October, a session called "Building a Code of Conduct for an Art Organisation: Discomfort and Transformation" is scheduled, with Grégory Castera of Kanal-Centre Pompidou, the Brussels venue of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, among the speakers.
Another public-programme work sits at the Beaux-Arts de Paris, the city's national school of fine arts. Kutluğ Ataman's video installation Kuba (2005) is shown in the school's Chapelle des Petits-Augustins, presented by the Niru Ratnam gallery.
For people planning a visit, Artsy's editorial guide to Paris Art Week lists 10 places to see during the week. It describes Art Basel Paris as the anchor of a week that also includes other fairs, museum shows and gallery openings.
Most of the stops are a short walk or metro ride from one another. Check each venue's own listing before setting out, because opening times for the outdoor and gallery programmes can differ from the fair's.
