Art Basel Paris kicked off its official VIP preview on Wednesday at the Grand Palais, following Tuesday's debut of 'Avant Première,' a new invitation-only preview for select clients. The fair's strong opening has generated significant sales, with top galleries reporting robust transactions across both preview days. The highest reported sale so far was Hauser & Wirth's placement of a 1987 Gerhard Richter abstract painting for $23 million, setting the tone for what many dealers are calling a successful edition of the Parisian fair.
The new staggered opening schedule has proven effective, despite some initial confusion about event naming. Wednesday's preview was still titled 'First Choice,' prompting one collector to joke to ARTnews, 'Shouldn't it be Second Choice?' However, dealers and advisors have praised the extended format, with many reporting that collectors returned for the official VIP opening after the brief four-hour Tuesday session.
'I think this is the most successful Art Basel Paris to date,' Paris-based advisor Francesca Napoli told ARTnews. 'Galleries have sold a huge number of major works on both days of the fair, particularly downstairs. This edition of the fair is going to prove crucial for the Paris market.' Napoli noted that prices reflected a balanced approach to what she described as a less speculative moment in the art market.
Major galleries dominated the high-value sales throughout both preview days. Lévy Gorvy Dayan sold a 1988 abstract painting by Richter, though the gallery declined to provide the sale price. The work had previously sold at Christie's New York four years ago for $27.2 million on an estimate of $25 million to $35 million. Other significant transactions included a $2.5 million Marlene Dumas painting at David Zwirner and a provocative $4.7 million Bruce Nauman neon work titled 'Masturbating Man' at Hauser & Wirth, which the gallery prominently displayed at the front of their booth.
White Cube reported multiple major sales, including Julie Mehretu's 2007 painting 'Charioteer' for $11.5 million, George Baselitz's 1989/2003 sculpture 'Dresdner Frauen – Elke' for $2.5 million, and Luc Tuymans' 2001 painting 'Bend Over' for $1.35 million. Gladstone Gallery also achieved a significant sale with Elizabeth Peyton's 2020 painting 'Kiss (Love)' for $1.3 million.
Paula Cooper Gallery demonstrated strong performance across multiple artists, selling a 1965 red lacquer on galvanized steel Donald Judd sculpture for an undisclosed price and a Claes Oldenberg work for between $250,000 and $300,000. The gallery also placed works by Alighiero e Boetti, Yayoi Kusama, Giovanni Anselmo, Giulio Paolini, and Christian Marclay. Their booth's focus on Minimalism aligned with the 'Minimal' exhibition currently on view at the Pinault Collection.
A standout piece at Paula Cooper was Meg Webster's 'Moss Bed, Twin' (1986/2025), a sculpture made of moss in the proportions of a twin bed, priced at $200,000. Gallery staff watered the living artwork throughout the day, embodying the artist's themes of ecology and impermanence. Still available works included a Sol LeWitt sculpture priced at $950,000 and a 1978 Jackie Winsor wire mesh sculpture for $350,000.
The Tuesday 'Avant Première' event, while generating substantial sales, presented some challenges for participating galleries. Neugerriemschneider's Mirko Mayer told ARTnews that deciding who to give the six invites allotted to each gallery was difficult and left some clients 'a little bit angry if they didn't get one.' Some emerging and medium-sized galleries on the second floor's less-traveled areas found the event less beneficial, with one American dealer describing it as 'like crickets,' calling it 'a lost day in Paris.'
However, by Wednesday afternoon, the upper floors of the Grand Palais were bustling with activity. Jessica Silverman from San Francisco described the fair as 'a true international meeting place for collectors, curators, and museum leaders.' Her gallery had a successful day, selling two of Davina Semo's bronze, suspended bells for $25,000 each, Atsushi Kaga's 'Nature's Resilience' (2025) for $125,000, and six other paintings by Kaga for $22,000 each. The gallery also sold a dozen works by Rebecca Manson, Clare Rojas, Woody De Othello, Isaac Julien, and others, with prices ranging from $18,000 to $60,000.
Some dealers emphasized the importance of building long-term relationships beyond immediate sales. Andrew Edlin, who also runs the Outsider Art Fair, highlighted how last year's introduction of Paulina Peavy's work to advisor Vera Alemani led to Emanuela Campoli showing Peavy in her Paris gallery and selling a piece at this year's fair. This type of network building demonstrates the fair's value beyond first-day transactions.
Alex Logsdail, CEO of Lisson Gallery, stressed taking a broader view of the fair's success. 'This is a five-day fair for us, not a one-day fair,' he told ARTnews. 'And it has started well. The quality of people here is very high, and dealers brought great material.' This perspective reflects a more measured approach to evaluating fair performance beyond opening-day sales figures.
Karma gallery exemplified the strong sales momentum, with Brendan Dugan celebrating over 12 artwork sales between both preview events. Notable transactions included Matthew Wong's 'White Wave, Black Sand' (2017) for $3.5 million, Manoucher Yektai's 'Still Life with France-Soir' (1960) for $750,000, and Reggie Burrows Hodges' 'Botanist Moon: Kelley's Work' (2024) for $350,000. Coming off a successful Frieze London, Dugan found Paris even more promising, telling ARTnews, 'This feels like a new energy in the art market,' suggesting renewed optimism and activity in the international art trade.
