Art Basel Paris runs through October 25. Courtesy of Art Basel

Art Basel Paris opened yesterday (Oct. 22) with its official VIP preview, though a new pre-opening—the Avant Première—had already built strong momentum the day before. In just four hours on Tuesday, dealers secured a wave of early sales—setting a more composed tone for opening day compared to last year’s frenetic debut at the Grand Palais. For the Avant Première, galleries invited six top clients, each with a plus-one, drawing roughly 6,000 guests in the fair’s first hours, according to Art Basel. Another 12,000 attended the VIP preview, which helped prevent the jam-packed aisles of last year’s edition.

Hauser & Wirth’s sale of a $23 million Gerhard Richter, timed with the artist’s major survey at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, headlined the fair’s early hours. The gallery also sold Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale, Attese (1964-1965) for €3,500,000 and George Condo’s Femme de Monaco (2025) for $1,850,000 during the pre-opening preview. By yesterday’s end, Hauser & Wirth reported additional significant sales, including Bruce Nauman’s Masturbating Man (1985) for $4,750,000, Francis Picabia’s Femme brune (1941-1942) for €850,000 and Firelei Báez’s Blooming in the Noise of the Whirlwind (World’s Progress) for $325,000. Also placed were works by Pat Steir ($795,000), Rashid Johnson ($750,000), Henry Taylor ($650,000), William Kentridge ($550,000), Ed Clark ($500,000) and Lorna Simpson ($400,000). Additional placements featured María Berrío ($250,000), three bronze editions by Camille Henrot ($225,000 each), Nairy Baghramian (€175,000), George Rouy (£120,000) and Hélène Delprat (€35,000).

Hauser & Wirth at Art Basel Paris 2025. Courtesy the artists / estates and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Nicolas Brasseur

Yet the other major “news” to emerge from the Avant Première—because the French never miss a good piece of gossip—was that former First Lady Carla Bruni arrived with her new partner on the same day her ex-husband Nicolas Sarkozy was sent to prison. Still, the true Parisian drama unfolded across town with the opening of Paris Internationale, the edgier counterpart to Basel’s polished precision. Several dealers candidly told Observer that much of Tuesday night’s energy was focused on who was there—and being seen—than on the business itself, in quintessential Parisian fashion. Still, in the early hours, established though not mega galleries also reported strong sales. New York’s P·P·O·W, for instance, recorded $700,000 in placements during the Avant Première, including a large-scale work by Kyle Dunn, alongside pieces by Hilary Harkness, Dinh Q. Lê and Carolee Schneemann. “Avant Première gave us a head start—and collectors responded enthusiastically,” Wendy Olsoff, director at P·P·O·W, told Observer. “We had quality time with every person who stopped by, which will certainly generate future opportunities.”

Downstairs, where the early activity was concentrated, mega-dealers competed less on volume than substance and pragmatism—showcasing museum-quality works by artists currently drawing institutional attention. The market, still cautious, clearly favors artists with established careers over those inflated by short-term auction hype. Perhaps the best example was Gagosian, whose booth presented a full arc of significant figures from past and present art history, spanning from a painting by Peter Paul Rubens to contemporary star Jadé Fadojutimi.

A surprising Pierre Paul Rubens work in Gagosian’s booth at Art Basel Paris 2025. Courtesy of Art Basel

Pace reported one of the fair’s other major sales with Amedeo Modigliani’s Jeune fille aux macarons (Young Woman with Hair in Side Buns) (1918), which sold for just under $10 million to a European institution. The sale precedes a multipart collaboration between Pace and the Institut Restellini for the publication of the definitive Amedeo Modigliani Catalogue Raisonné in March 2026, to be distributed by Yale University Press—a long-awaited effort to bring order to the artist’s famously chaotic market. Another standout sale followed the Modigliani: Adrian Ghenie’s The Spanish Room 2 (2025), which sold for €1,500,000. By evening, Pace had also placed Agnes Martin’s Children’s Playing (1999) for $4.5 million, ahead of her upcoming New York survey and inclusion in “Minimal” at the Bourse de Commerce. Other artists from that exhibition also performed well, including Lee Ufan ($900,000) and Jiro Takamatsu ($52,000). Additional sales included works by Emily Kam Kngwarray ($550,000), Louise Nevelson ($500,000), Paulina Olowska ($195,000), Alicja Kwade ($115,000), Arlene Shechet ($80,000) and Marina Perez Simão ($70,000).

Highlights from the VIP day confirmed that serious buying extended well beyond the Avant Première rush. Pace sold Alexander Calder’s Big Bellied Bottle (1958), aligning neatly with the September 2025 opening of Calder Gardens in Philadelphia, the first institution dedicated entirely to the artist’s legacy. Additional placements included Elmgreen & Dragset’s bronze The Visitor (2025) for €270,000, an Agnes Martin work on paper from 1977 for $250,000, Robert Nava’s painting Ability to Teleport ($250,000) and teamLab’s Darkness Becomes Existence, an Eternal Sea (2025) for $120,000. A 1984 work by Antoni Tàpies also sold, as did one by Loie Hollowell ($65,000) ahead of her forthcoming solo exhibition at Pace London in March 2026.

Pace Gallery at Art Basel 2025. Photography by Sebastiano Pellion, courtesy Pace Gallery

David Zwirner described this edition as its “most successful fair in Paris to date,” placing works across a wide range of its roster, including a Ruth Asawa sculpture ($7,500,000), paintings by Martin Kippenberger ($5,000,000), Gerhard Richter ($3,500,000), Joan Mitchell ($3,000,000), Bridget Riley ($2,200,000) and Robert Ryman ($1,200,000). Additional sales included Elizabeth Peyton ($1,000,000 and $220,000), Dana Schutz ($900,000), Yayoi Kusama, Marlene Dumas and Lucas Arruda, along with twelve Richter editions at $400,000 each, an Oscar Murillo painting ($380,000) and two Andra Ursuța sculptures at $300,000 each.

If the first hours on Tuesday were buoyant, momentum clearly accelerated on the second VIP day, when dealers began confidently reporting sales by afternoon—and, discreetly, acknowledging overnight booth rehangs. Perrotin, always a powerhouse on its home turf, confirmed brisk activity through Thursday afternoon, selling more than a dozen works priced between €90,000 and €180,000, including several on paper. Highlights included Pierre Soulages (€400,000), Takashi Murakami ($550,000), Bharti Kher (€140,000), Mr. (€130,000-€140,000), Emily Mae Smith (€135,000) and Claire Tabouret ($180,000-210,000), as well as pieces by Izumi Kato, Hernan Bas and Sophie Calle. Two collaborative paintings by Mr. x Murakami sold for $150,000-170,000 each, alongside Otani Workshop ($50,000-60,000) and Chen Fei ($280,000).

Almine Rech’s pre-sales also exceeded expectations. Among the works placed were Joël Andrianomearisoa ($40,000-45,000), Oliver Beer ($80,000-90,000), Brian Calvin ($35,000-40,000), Ha Chong-Hyun ($250,000-300,000), Mehdi Ghadyanloo ($150,000-170,000), Youngju Joung ($65,000-70,000), Ewa Juszkiewicz ($700,000-800,000) and Pablo Picasso ($500,000-600,000). Additional highlights included Claire Tabouret ($150,000-180,000), Tom Wesselmann ($250,000-300,000), Ji Xin ($50,000-60,000) and James Turrell ($900,000-1,000,000). Andrianomearisoa’s installation at the Hôtel de la Marine—part of Art Basel’s public program—sold for $230,000-290,000. “This edition of Art Basel Paris is proving to be exceptional, marked by enthusiasm from collectors,” Almine Rech told Observer. “In a still measured market, these results demonstrate stable activity and sustained interest in the artists within our program.”

Parisian powerhouse Kamel Mennour, showcasing the blue-chip side of his program, placed an Andy Warhol ($1,300,000), two works by Lee Ufan ($1,000,000 each), a Gerhard Richter ($280,000), a Ugo Rondinone ($240,000) and an Adam Pendleton ($225,000).

White Cube at Art Basel Paris 2025. © White Cub

White Cube reported sales only after the first official VIP day, including Julie Mehretu ($11,500,000), Georg Baselitz (€2,500,000), Luc Tuymans ($1,350,000) and Josef Albers (€550,000). Other highlights included Howardena Pindell ($550,000), Theaster Gates and Danh Võ (€350,000), Francis Picabia (€300,000), Antony Gormley (£250,000), Park Seo-Bo ($250,000) and Marina Rheingantz ($220,000). Tracey Emin’s three works sold for £120,000 each, while Enrico David (£75,000), Yoko Matsumoto ($70,000) and Léon Wuidar (€68,000) rounded out the list. “We’re absolutely thrilled not only by strong sales but by the sense of momentum,” senior director Matthieu Paris told Observer. “Paris is back, and it feels like the art world knows it.”

Among French veterans, Templon reported robust first-day sales, including Anthony Caro (€200,000), François Rouan (€165,000), Chiharu Shiota (€130,000), Omar Ba (€100,000), Gérard Garouste (€85,000), Philippe Cognée (€50,000) and several Kehinde Wileys ($85,000-125,000).

Thaddaeus Ropac, ever the fair fixture, reported an extensive list led by Georg Baselitz (€3,500,000, €1,200,000, €1,200,000, €1,000,000 and €850,000). Alberto Burri’s Sacco e oro sold for €4,200,000, followed by Elizabeth Peyton ($1,300,000). Other sales included Antony Gormley (£600,000 and €120,000), Joan Snyder ($600,000, placed with a U.K. museum), Sean Scully ($500,000), Daniel Richter (€450,000) and multiple works by Martha Jungwirth (€430,000, €340,000, €190,000 and €75,000). Additional highlights included Tony Cragg (€325,000), Pierre Soulages (€280,000), Sturtevant (€275,000), Liza Lou ($250,000), Tom Sachs ($225,000), Miquel Barceló (€110,000), Robert Longo ($90,000), ZADIE XA (€70,000) and Oliver Beer (£55,000).

Sprüth Magers at Art Basel Paris 2025. Courtesy of Art Basel

Welcoming visitors at the entrance were two of Germany’s powerhouses: neugerriemschneider, showcasing a monumental Ai Weiwei Lego version of The Last Supper and Sprüth Magers, whose booth was wrapped in a massive Barbara Kruger piece. Sprüth Magers reported strong sales, including three George Condos ($1,800,000, $1,200,000 and $1,800,000), alongside Rosemarie Trockel (€300,000 and €200,000), Louise Lawler ($90,000), Hyun-Sook Song (€70,000), Salvo (€58,000), Gala Porras-Kim ($60,000), Henni Alftan ($50,000), David Salle (€42,000), Gretchen Bender ($40,000), Andreas Schulze (€35,000) and Oliver Bak (€20,000).

Berlin-based Eva Presenhuber also stood out for her ambitious presentation, featuring three of Ugo Rondinone’s giant Magic Mountains—the vividly colored stone towers first installed in the Mojave Desert in 2016. Blending the primordial with the hyper-contemporary, these three-meter-high forms bridge cairns, megaliths and minimalist sculpture with an irresistible pop aesthetic. The gallery also co-presented Rondinone’s monumental The Innocent (2024) with Mennour, installed in the forecourt of the Institut de France as part of Art Basel’s Public program.

Eva Presenhuber at Art Basel Paris 2025. Photo: Annik Wetter