10 Must-See Shows during Paris+ par Art Basel
Chen Ke, Bauhaus Building Dessau No.1, 2022. Photo by Hao Yang. Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin.
In its first year, Paris+ par Art Basel exceeded its already high expectations after racking in several seven-figure sales—immediately establishing itself as one of the most anticipated art events of the year. As the fair embarks on its second year, the art world is abuzz with one burning question: “What’s in store for the encore?” Art Basel’s newest fair has a robust answer, presenting 154 premier galleries for its sequel which is hosted, like last year, in the illustrious Grand Palais Éphémère. Paris+, which infamously displaced the long-running FIAC fair in the calendar, runs from October 20th–22nd.
This year, Paris+ will work with the city of Paris to help cultivate the excitement, by featuring public works in five locations, including the Jardin des Tuileries and the Place Vendôme. As part of this collaboration, the fair is running a conference entitled Conversations at the Centre Pompidou, a platform for dynamic dialogues between figures from the art world and the broader cultural sphere. Let’s just hope reports of bedbugs taking over the city have been overstated.
Like the sophomore art fair, the Parisian art scene is brimming with a diverse and captivating selection of exhibitions. Here are the standout gallery shows happening during Paris+ par Art Basel.
TARWUK, KLOSKLAS_yalP_eht_dna_sreyalP_ehT_,teop_ehT, 2023. © TARWUK. Photo by Eva Herzog. Courtesy of White Cube.
Bruno Pogačnik Tremow and Ivana Vukšić, the artist duo behind TARWUK, came of age during the tumultuous Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. In their practice, the Croatian team, now living in the U.S., grapple with the enduring trauma of war. For them, artmaking is a poignant reflection of their cultural and personal posthistory—a representation of how they view the past.
Their latest installation exhibition, “Conceived for the Stage,” draws inspiration from formal conventions of theater, inviting attendees to become integral participants in the space rather than solely spectators. Meanwhile, TARWUK’s large-scale paintings, such as MRTISKLAAH_thguohT_gnilevelnU (2023), depict intimate scenes—tender encounters, family dinners, and playful dances between owners and pets. The gallery, illuminated by a glow from hand-blown glass orbs, also showcases sculptures of domestic scenes adorned by Yugoslav worker uniforms, Art Nouveau furniture, and Edwardian costumes. To commemorate the exhibition, White Cube and TARWUK are releasing a limited edition of 100 RISO-printed books, which function as exhibition guides and librettos.
Thandiwe Muriu, Cycle of Joy, 2023. © Thandiwe Muriu. Courtesy of the artist and 193 Gallery.
Thandiwe Muriu, Circles of Love, 2023. © Thandiwe Muriu. Courtesy of the artist and 193 Gallery.
Though she only started her artistic career as a photographer three years ago, Thandiwe Muriu’s work has already been acquired by several significant collections, such as the Fondation Gandur in Switzerland and The Contemporary African Art Collection by Pigozzi. Her striking photographic self-portraits create kaleidoscopic illusions without digital manipulation, swaddling herself in vibrant designs and Ankara textiles common in Central and West Africa.
“You Thought You Could Throw Me Away” challenges prevailing and disparaging stereotypes about Central and Western Africa and its citizens. Muriu’s photos are designed to uproot distorted ideas of the region and its culture. For her, photography acts as a formidable medium to reshape perception and urge viewers to rethink their predispositions, especially in her “Camo” series, where the artist is enveloped in various prismatic images, her vision obstructed with eyewear made from common household items. Here, she reclaims her place within stereotyped narratives and addresses the universal theme of womanhood.
Brazilian artist Alexandre Furcolin has now published nine photography books, including São Paulo, part of the Louis Vuitton Fashion Eye series. In that book, Furcolin attempts to subvert the aesthetic of the dominating metropolis by documenting the unrefined corners where nature and humanity thrive together. With experimental tactics to fuse light and color, his photos often develop harsh juxtapositions between people and places. Now, his newest series of paintings builds off his work as a photographer, turning inward to explore themes of spirituality and nature.
Furcolin’s exhibition “Rios Que Nao Se Veem” features paintings inspired by photographic experiments on photosensitive surfaces, research into medicinal plants, and his musical studies. Sometimes, bold images and brushstrokes intrude on the focal point, as seen vividly in ESPINHEIRASANTA (2023), while other works, such as DERVISH (2023), depict calm, muted landscapes. Along with these paintings, the gallery will feature collages from the photographer’s “I-Ching” series.
Santídio Pereira, Object VII, 2023. Photo by EstudioEmObra. Courtesy of the artist, Galeria Estação, and Xippas.
Santídio Pereira Untitled, 2023. Photo by EstudioEmObra. Courtesy of the artist, Galeria Estação, and Xippas.
Until he turned eight, Santídio Pereira lived in Piauí, Brazil, a region home to a unique semi-arid forest biome called Caatinga, which the artist developed a youthful fascination with. These childhood memories of nature act as the primary influence for his upcoming exhibition “Un horizon végétal,” which shows a series of recent works, including monumental woodcuts of tropical plants and landscape watercolors on paper.
Pereira’s artistic practice revitalizes the tradition of Brazilian woodcuts, previously used by artists such as Manoel Messias and Anna Maria Maiolino. These woodcuts feature several regional plants like bromeliads, notable for their stemless leaves, narrow rosettes, and deep calyx, as seen in Object VII (2023).
This gallery exhibition follows two notable institutional shows for the artist: a solo show at the Iberê Camargo Foundation in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and a group show at the Fondation Cartier at the Triennale Milano in Italy, which closes in late October.
Joaquim Tenreiro, Chaise Longue, 1947. Courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery.
Most of Joaquim Tenreiro’s “Masterworks” are bespoke pieces of furniture, placed in private collections and rarely seen in public over the past few decades. Beginning in the 1940s, Tenreiro became one of the first designers to integrate Brazil’s diverse hardwoods into his practice. Not only did he revolutionize the functionality of various woods, but he also integrated Brazilian heritage into his experimental and mesmerizing geometric furniture.
On display in the Carpenters Workshop Gallery show is Tenreiro’s Chaise Longue (1947), which reimagines the traditionally weighty piece of furniture into an airy design. The exhibition emphasizes Tenreiro’s additional contributions as a sculptor, architect, and painter. This monumental exhibition situates the designer’s work within a broader artistic history, linking his furniture to contemporary art.
The gallery will also host a second exhibition focusing on Joaquim Tenreiro at its Ladbroke Hall location in London next year.
Chen Ke, Bauhaus Gal No.33, 2023. Photo by Hao Yang. Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin.
Chen Ke’s practice has never concealed her inspirations. For several years, she’s created paintings of photographic portraits. For instance, 1955 - New York - 29 Years Old (2016) shows a contemplative Marilyn Monroe leaning over a balcony and looking out at the city skyline. Chen captures the original photo’s emotional weight while interjecting her own perspective—created through her study of human connection and experience.
Using photos from a book entitled Bauhaus Mädels, Chen’s “appropriationist” paintings present portraits of young Bauhaus students. But her latest iterations veer off to create chromatic and abstract depictions of their subjects. In Bauhaus Gal No.33 (2023), Chen portrays a young student, originally photographed in black and white, in bright futuristic colors. The images generate an unsettling vertigo, because the viewer is subject to contradictions—Chen’s resistance to realism. She documents the aura of her subjects, using aesthetic cues familiar from the Bauhaus’s radical early 20th-century modernism, and in doing so, her new paintings explore the depths and complexities of perception.
Molly Greene, Tend, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and cadet capela.
Molly Greene, Sensor, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and cadet capela.
Molly Greene, who was born in Vermont and works in Los Angeles, is interested in the intersections of life, technology, and nature. Though she only began exhibiting her work in 2018, following postgraduate studies in environmental science and American studies, Greene tends to look beyond simple depictions of nature, in her bright and almost surreal style. For her second exhibition with cadet capela, “Very Much Alive,” the artist draws inspiration from the century-old agave by her veranda, her large-scale works in pastel tones beckoning viewers to ponder nature’s enigmas.
These works question the authenticity of nature, looking beyond the material. Instead, as evidenced in Tend (2023), she traces the sensorial limbs of a tree, painting small balls of light at the end of each branch. Her work experiments with modes of communication, testing how we interact with and perceive nature.
Chen Zhen, Purification Room, 2000. © ADAGP, Paris. Courtesy of Galleria Continua.
Born in Shanghai to a French-speaking family, Chen Zhen understood his life would be short. At an early age, he was diagnosed with an incurable disease, hemolytic anemia, dramatically altering how he viewed his life and art. Shortly after this diagnosis, he immigrated to France and transitioned from painting to installation art. There, he coined the term “transexperience” to explain the ongoing dialogue between cultures and artistic practice and how this experience challenges and changes one’s identity.
“Double Exil,” a retrospective solo exhibition of the late Franco-Chinese artist, explores his own “double exile,’’ an intersection of immigration and nomadism. Chen’s work evokes the feeling of isolation—which for him personally, was a consequence of cultural alienation. For instance, the exhibition culminates in his installation, Purification Room (2000), a domestic room where the walls, floors, furniture, and objects are covered in monochromatic clay. The exhibit urges viewers to confront themselves, to meditate among a familiar yet muted backdrop.
Nearly 23 years after his death, Chen’s installations still present entry points to rich dialogues on nature, spirituality, and contemporary society.
Portrait of Tadashi Kawamata at The Nest at Amos Rex, Helsinki. Photo by Stella Ojala. Courtesy of Mennour.
The materials Tadashi Kawamata incorporates into his installations look familiar. And yet, in his hands, everyday items like chairs and desks undergo a metamorphosis into site-specific masterpieces. With a keen focus on upcycling, Kawamata molds these materials into captivating labyrinths, inviting deep contemplation of habitat, identity, and the essence of home. For example, his 2022 project “The Nest” attached wooden sculptures to the Lasipalatsi (or Glass Palace), a functionalist office building in Helsinki, Finland.
Kawamata’s latest work for “Meubler” immerses visitors in another dimension, adorning the gallery with works from his two series“Tree Huts” and “Nests,” bothmade from scrap material. Inspired by the French word for “furnish,” his seventh solo exhibition with Mennour transforms the gallery’s spaces at Rue Saint-André-des-Arts, Rue du Pont de Lodi, and Avenue Matignon into a garden of real trees and his creations. The enduring theme of Kawamata’s practice is his capacity for pointing out the untapped potential of our environment, urban or rural.
Alvaro Barrington, “They Got Time: You Belong to the City”
Thaddaeus Ropac
Oct. 18, 2023–Jan. 27, 2024
Alvaro Barrington, untitled Pac, 2023. © Alvaro Barrington. Photo by Jonas Balsevicius. Courtesy Thaddaeus Ropac.
Born in Venezuela and raised between the Caribbean and Brooklyn, Alvaro Barrington has developed a practice that spans various media, from paintings adorned with unconventional materials such as burlap, to immersive installations. His most recent exhibition at Thaddaeus Ropac, “La Vie en Rose” (2022), drew inspiration from Tupac Shakur and the music of 1990s Brooklyn. His work, such as his “rose that grew from concrete” series, which is named after a book by Shakur, emerges from his reflections on the music and the era. He tries, he has said in interviews, to visualize the memory and music that raised him: “I thought about imagining music as a painting.”
Now, for his fifth exhibition with Ropac, “They Got Time: You Belong to the City,” Barrington pays homage to the expansive influences in his life in an installation capturing the essence of a luxurious New York, from the dreamy beginnings of Breakfast at Tiffany’s to the unforgettable images of Notorious B.I.G. photographed against the backdrop of the World Trade Center. Barrington’s interdisciplinary approach incorporates common objects into his work, including carpets, steel drums, brooms, and fans, creating an accessible entry point for others to understand the childhood wonder he associates with New York City.
