This October, Paris gears up to be a bustling epicenter for the global art world, bringing together a vibrant mix of exhibitions, fairs, and off-site events that will leave no corner of the city untouched by creativity. This year’s cultural landscape promises to highlight not only the work of established international figures but also emerging talents from regions that are reshaping contemporary art discourse. Particularly compelling is the growing presence of Central and Eastern European artists, whose influence has become increasingly visible in some of the world’s most prestigious art fairs and institutions.
Paris offers an exceptional opportunity to witness this phenomenon firsthand, with fairs like Art Basel Paris and Paris Internationale expanding their scope to include Eastern European galleries and artists. From the avant-garde creations of emerging Romanian and Ukrainian talents to the historical reflections of Lithuanian masters, the city will host a wide spectrum of work that challenges, provokes, and inspires. These artists bring fresh perspectives to global art conversations, blending personal histories with broader sociopolitical themes.
Whether it’s a large-scale digital art projection at the Château de Vincennes or an intimate photography exhibition in a hidden gallery, October promises to be a month of discovery. Prepare to immerse yourself in the compelling narratives, radical proposals, and multi-layered histories that await in Paris’s art spaces.
ART BASEL PARIS 2024
Contemporary Lynx is a proud Media Partner of Art Basel Paris!
Art Basel’s arrival in Paris marks a significant moment for the city’s art scene, merging the prestige of this global fair with the historical grandeur of the Grand Palais. In Paris, Art Basel will bring a wide array of international and local galleries, with prominent galleries like The Gallery of Everything showcasing Ukrainian-American artist Janet Sobel, and Galeria Plan B focusing on contemporary Romanian art, as well as many others.
The Emergence Sector:
Jan Eustachy Wolski (Piktogram, Warsaw) is a standout artist from Poland. His paintings are rooted in surreal narratives, often drawing from art historical themes. Wolski’s works demonstrate an intriguing blend of the past and the contemporary, revealing subtle complexities of identity and history.
Marija Olšauskaite (PM8 / Francisco Salas, Vigo) is a Lithuanian artist whose light-based installations explore minimalism, with intricate uses of illumination that create immersive environments. Her works invite viewers to engage deeply with the subtlety of light and space.
Lou Fauroux (Exo Exo, Paris) tackles futuristic concepts, imagining a world where the internet no longer exists. Fauroux’s work reflects on the rapidly changing landscape of technology and its impact on human behavior.
Kenji Ide (Kayokoyuki, Tokyo) creates small-scale sculptures that evoke nuanced moments of human interaction. His work masterfully highlights the quiet, unnoticed shifts in perception, drawing viewers into intimate worlds of connection.
Lungiswa Gqunta (Whatiftheworld, Cape Town) focuses on decolonial narratives and ancestral knowledge. Her installations foreground the complexities of South Africa’s post-colonial identity, blending physical and conceptual elements.
The Premise Sector:
Nil Yalter (Turkey) – Represented in the Premise sector, Yalter’s work often examines the intersections of power, gender, and history through multimedia installations. One of her highlighted works, The AmbassaDRESS (1978), is a thought-provoking piece that critiques the complicity of elites in historical atrocities, such as Nazi Germany. This deep investigation into societal power structures aligns Yalter’s practice with contemporary concerns of memory and cultural symbolism.
Sigmar Polke (Poland/ Germany) – In the Premise sector, Polke, a Polish-German artist, is recognized for his experiments in various media. His photographic works, created through techniques like overexposure and chemical manipulation, present surreal, kaleidoscopic visions that challenge conventional perceptions.
Wally Hedrick (USA) – His Black Paintings, showcased in the Premise sector, use thick black oil paint to cover earlier works to protest against war and militarism. These haunting paintings represent Hedrick’s ongoing confrontation with American imperialism.
Chico Tabibuia (Brazil) and Tomie Ohtake (Japan) – Their works, presented in a joint booth, highlight organic forms that bridge Afro-Brazilian spiritual heritage and Japanese Zen philosophy. This pairing in the Premise sector creates a compelling dialogue between material and spiritual worlds.
Other Exhibitors:
Galeria Plan B (Romania/Germany) This gallery has long been an advocate for showcasing talent from Romania and the surrounding region, including key figures like Adrian Ghenie and Ciprian Mureșan.
Galerie nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder (Austria) Another stalwart in the art fair circuit brings its focus on the Vienna art scene, where Central and Eastern European influences run deep. Interesting artists include Michał Budny, Daniel Knorr, and Natasza Niedziółka.
More info:
Art Basel Paris 2024 will take place from October 18 to 20 at the Grand Palais, located on Avenue Winston-Churchill, 75008 Paris. The VIP previews are scheduled on October 16 and 17 for select invitees, while the public days will run from 11 AM to 7 PM during the event.
PARIS INTERNATIONALE
Paris Internationale 2024, taking place from October 16 to 20, celebrates its 10th edition as a key platform for emerging contemporary art. Known for championing independent and cutting-edge galleries, the fair emphasizes innovation and diversity in the art world. Set in a unique multi-story venue in the heart of Paris, the fair fosters a more intimate, experimental atmosphere compared to larger art fairs.
This year, the fair highlights a global selection of galleries, including a strong representation from Central and Eastern Europe, alongside notable curators and galleries from the Americas, Asia, and beyond. Clément Delépine, Silvia Ammon, and Nicolas Trembley are some of the key curators involved in shaping this innovative event, ensuring a dynamic mix of artistic voices.
The fair is known for prioritizing artists and galleries working in a diverse range of practices—across installation, digital media, and traditional mediums—providing a platform for emerging voices to engage with new ideas while offering visitors an insightful and fresh view of the contemporary art landscape.
Selected art galleries:
Stereo Gallery (Warsaw, Poland)
Piotr Bury Łakomy: A Polish artist whose work engages with personal and social themes through dynamic installations and sculptures. He uses everyday objects and found materials to challenge perceptions, inviting viewers to reflect on the complexities of modern life.
Gunia Nowik Gallery (Warsaw, Poland)
Agata Bogacka: A Polish painter born in Warsaw. She is known for her figurative paintings, described as a “painterly diary of mental states.” Her work has evolved from personal emotional expressions to more abstract forms, utilizing geometric shapes and tonal transitions to explore complex human relationships.
Empty Gallery (Hong Kong)
Tishan Hsu: A pioneering multimedia artist whose works explore the relationship between the human body and technology. His early works from the 1980s, often involving synthetic materials and geometric forms, predicted the increasing fusion between the biological and the technological.
Bel Ami (Los Angeles, USA)
Isabelle Frances McGuire and Dan Mitchell: A two-person booth, exploring the evolving perception of the human form within complex social systems. McGuire reinterprets cultural icons, including Ahab from Moby Dick, to examine the gap between image and physicality, while Mitchell employs humor in his drawings to critique societal excess through subverted cigarette ads. Together, their works invite viewers to question the origins of their thoughts and feelings, engaging with themes of identity and the interplay of media.
Paris Internationale 2024 will take place from October 16 to 20 at the Central Bergère, located at 17 Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière in the 9th arrondissement, and the VIP preview and opening will be held on October 15th and is invitation only.
ASIA NOW
Contemporary Lynx is a proud Media Partner of Asia Now
Asia Now, held at the Monnaie de Paris, is the premier fair for contemporary Asian art in Europe. While its focus is predominantly on Asian diasporic narratives, this year’s edition will also provide a broader global outlook, showcasing the intersection of Asian and European cultures. This year’s guest. For AsiaNOW 2024, the curatorial direction has shifted from the previous year’s guest curators, Slavs and Tatars, to Radicants, a curatorial cooperative founded by Nicolas Bourriaud. This edition, titled “Ceremony,” focuses on collective rituals and immersive experiences that challenge traditional art fair formats. The theme celebrates ancestral wisdom and explores how ceremonies can strengthen social bonds, reflecting the fair’s ongoing commitment to showcasing the diverse artistic landscapes of Asia and its diasporas.
Selected exhibitions:
Galerie Fabian Lang’s exhibition features Xiao Guo Hui and Chen Wen Qing, who have collaborated since 2010. Xiao Guo Hui blends Renaissance, Mannerism, and Ukiyo-e styles, using egg tempera to create luminous works that mix biblical themes with modern ideas. Chen Wenqing deconstructs natural elements to explore the beauty of decay, creating intricate compositions that reflect nature’s immortality. Both artists live and work in Paris.
Window Project will present a solo exhibition by Tamara K.E. The exhibition explores a surreal, uncertain future and the search for a language to describe it. It will feature her monumental paintings from The Day After the Future (2012), small-scale mixed-media works from Revisiting Fear (2016), and large-scale graphics from The End of the Fringe (2024). These works address cultural memory, using dynamic systems of codes and signifiers to reflect on history and its final farewell.
Gallery 4710 will feature works by three artists: Tamar Nadiradze, Merab Gugunashvili, and Merab Kopaleishvili. Gugunashvili’s small ceramic sculptures and Nadiradze’s works on paper and ceramic tiles explore themes of self, body, and home, offering a personal narrative through a poetic artistic language. The exhibition also presents Merab Kopaleishvili, in collaboration with Reach Art Visual, continuing the gallery’s mission to showcase young, experimental, and diverse Georgian artists.
Galerie Anne-Laure Buffard presents Home, a duo exhibition by Korean twin sisters Park Chae Dalle and Park Chae Biole, alongside Japanese ceramic artist Yoshimi Futamura. The Park Chae twins recreate their childhood home through paintings, textiles, and installations, while Futamura’s ceramics, inspired by the Fukushima disaster, engage with their work. The exhibition explores themes of altered foundations, natural cycles, and recycling, reflecting cultural connections between Korea and Japan.
NIKA Project Space will showcase Sour Things: the Pantry, a solo project by Palestinian, Lisbon-based artist Mirna Bamieh. First shown at Noordbrabants Museum in the Netherlands, this project explores the concept of the pantry as a space of fermentation and preservation. Bamieh focuses on the experience of the uprooted and displaced, questioning how preservation practices evolve in a state of liminality. The artist reflects on the idea that while fermentation requires stability, preservation can happen anywhere, using salt as a symbol of hope for future gatherings. The booth is curated by Bamieh herself.
Asia Now 2024 takes place from October 17 to 20 at Monnaie de Paris, 11 Quai de Conti, 75006 Paris. The VIP preview will be on October 16, with public hours from 9 AM to 8 PM during the main event.
ASIA NOW 2024: Transformation into Ceremony. In conversation with Alexander Burenkov, the co-curator of this edition, and Kathy Alliou, curator of Sumayya Vally’s installation at Asia Now.
This year, Asia Now is celebrating its 10th anniversary. On that occasion, this renowned art fair invited Nicolas Bourriaud and the cooperative Radicants to curate this edition. Under their leadership, Asia Now 2024 explores the themes of sacred and profane rituals, thus transforming its form into a ceremony. ‘Rituals embody human actions that not only reinforce social structures but can also transform them’, says one of the curators.
Read interview with Alexander Burenkov, the co-curator of this edition, and Kathy Alliou, artistic director of Asia Now.
OTHER EVENTS IN PARIS
Beyond the major fairs, Paris 2024 will offer a diverse array of exhibitions and off-site events that span both CEE and non-CEE artists. From Tomasz Machciński’s introspective exhibition at the Christian Berst Art Brut Gallery to the Lithuanian Season at Centre Pompidou, this section will explore key exhibitions that highlight the rich cultural exchange taking place in the city.
Tomasz Machciński: American Dream, I Made it All Because of You
Dates: September 14 – November 10, 2024
Location: 3-5-6 Passage des Gravilliers
In this deeply personal exhibition, Tomasz Machciński explores identity, illusion, and his enduring connection to American culture. Known for his photographic self-portraits, Machciński’s practice spans five decades and is deeply intertwined with themes of transformation and persona-building. This Parisian solo show will be an introspective journey, presenting over 100 of his works that have also been shown at prestigious venues such as Paris Photo.
The Season of Lithuania in France 2024: SE VOIR EN L’AUTRE / THE OTHER SAME
Dates: September 12 – December 12, 2024
Location: Centre Pompidou
The Lithuanian Season at the Centre Pompidou promises to be a comprehensive look at the evolution of Lithuanian contemporary art from the 1960s to today. Highlighting artists like Kazys Varnelis and spanning across mediums such as painting, video, and installation, this exhibition weaves Lithuanian history and its cultural shifts into a broader European context.
The Salon by NADA and The Community
Dates: October 17 – October 20, 2024
Location: 30 bis Rue de Paradis
For those interested in discovering emerging galleries and multidisciplinary projects, The Salon offers an alternative art experience. In collaboration with Paris-based collective The Community, it promises a rich cultural program blending art, performance, and events that extend the scope of the traditional art fair model.
Nuit des Châteaux
Dates: October 18 – October 19, 2024
Location: Various castles across France
For a more immersive experience, Nuit des Châteaux opens historic French castles for nocturnal explorations. Often accompanied by site-specific art installations, this is a unique opportunity to see contemporary art in historic settings.
Lesage: 100 Years of Fashion and Decoration
Dates: September 26, 2024 – January 5, 2025
Location: la Galerie du 19M
Celebrate a century of Lesage’s embroidery and textile excellence at the exhibition “Lesage: 100 Years of Fashion and Decoration.” Visitors can explore Lesage’s extensive collection, including 80,000 preserved samples. The exhibition also offers insights into the history of the house, with sound capsules and creative displays paying tribute to its artisans and collaborations with contemporary designers.
