Paris Turns the Art Market into a Grand Spectacle at the Grand Palais
Paris’s art scene took center stage as Art Basel Paris returned to the iconic Grand Palais, drawing over 65,000 visitors—nearly doubling last year’s attendance. The fair’s electric atmosphere was matched by a surge in sales, highlighted by Louise Bourgeois’s monumental Spider I sculpture fetching $20 million, a record for the event.
The 2024 edition saw 195 galleries from around the globe, with blue-chip works and emerging talents alike finding eager buyers. Notable sales included Julie Mehretu’s Insile for $9.5 million and Mark Bradford’s Not Quite in a Hurry for $3.5 million, signaling robust confidence in contemporary art. Galleries reported brisk business throughout the week, with transactions spanning from six-figure modernist gems to fresh works by rising stars.
Paris’s revitalized Grand Palais set the stage for what felt like the Olympics of the art world—a place where history, innovation, and commerce converged in dazzling form. When the art world gathers under one glass roof, Paris proves it can still steal the show.
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