This Tuesday marked the debut of Art Basel Paris—formerly Paris+ par Art Basel—at the Grand Palais, recently reopened following a four-year restoration funded by Chanel. Through Saturday, October 26, the 124-year-old property will host 195 galleries representing 42 countries and territories. Here, a few highlights from the fairgrounds.
Carlo Zinelli
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Tucked into one easy-to-miss hall is a special booth by Christian Berst’s gallery dedicated to the work of Italian artist Carlo Zinelli (1916–1974). Known for his graphic, iterative style, Zinelli—who was institutionalized at 31 after showing signs of schizophrenia during the Spanish Civil War—is now recognized as a major figure in the art brut movement popularized by Jean Dubuffet. Many of Zinelli’s paintings at Art Basel Paris depict silhouetted human and animal figures on double-sided canvases—an intriguing delight to passersby.
Steffani Jemison
The fair’s Emergence sector, organized in partnership with the Galeries Lafayette, shines a light on burgeoning talent from across the globe. A presentation by American contemporary artist and educator Steffani Jemison—represented by Galeria Madragoa in Lisbon—comprised a decommissioned blue theater curtain with star-like embellishments; photographs of figures in motion, captured by the artist herself; and etchings of symbols resembling fruit or flowers on chemically treated glass circles. Each part of Untitled (Same Time / How else will I), 2024 was designed to bring a vision of the night sky down to eye level.
Shahryar Nashat
Mounted in a picnic-like tableau by Sylvia Kouvali, LA-based artist Shahryar Nashat’s painting Hustler_25.JPEG, 2024 is a radiant conceptual painting in varying shades of yellow and fluorescent white. Befitting the emphasis on the body that runs through Nashat’s practice, the painting, composed of acrylic gel and ink on canvas and embedded in an artist-made frame of epoxy, appears to show a pair of twisted trousers emitting their own points of light.
Other things to see around the city:
Elsewhere in Paris, Lafayette Anticipations has staged the first major survey of multidisciplinary artist Martine Syms’s work in France. Titled “Total,” it spans four floors, exploring the duality of public versus private space. Many of the video works feature Syms herself, including Lessons I-CLXXX, 2014-2018, a collection of videos on Blackness. The videos reference Kevin Young’s 2012 book The Grey Album: On the Blackness of Blackness and include a clip of Syms against a black background, with milk dripping down her face and chest—a response to the 2014 police murder of Michael Brown.
Also at Lafayette Anticipations is “Soft Skills,” a presentation by Lebanese artist Mohamad Abdouni. Through aged and layered photographs, Abdouni creates a deeply personal and moving portrait of modern Lebanon, centering family, queerness, and notions of masculinity.
