Clément Delépine, the director of Art Basel Paris since 2022, has quickly established the fair as a cornerstone of the international art calendar. Following the upcoming 2025 edition this October, Delépine will take on a new role as director of Lafayette Anticipations—the Galeries Lafayette corporate foundation—beginning November 17, 2025. As he prepares to transition from stewarding Paris’s most anticipated art fair to leading one of its most innovative institutions, Delépine reflects on this pivotal moment.
Art Basel Paris 2024; Courtesy of Art Basel.
WHITEWALL: It’s hard to believe this is only the second edition of Art Basel Paris. Already, people are building their calendars around it. What can we expect from the second edition?
CLÉMENT DELÉPINE: It’s about understanding what works in the nave, especially for the powerhouse galleries on the central aisles, and what works upstairs, where half of the exhibitors are located. In Basel, the split is between modern and contemporary. In Paris, it feels more generational. We want both levels to carry equal weight, to structure the fair so younger galleries upstairs are in dialogue with established ones. That requires balancing objective criteria with a vision—a conceptual direction. Beyond the glass ceiling, our public program is also a source of pride. We’re expanding collaborations, like with the Petit Palais across the street, and continuing with institutions like the Palais d’Iéna, supported by partners such as Miu Miu.
Stefan Rinck, Courtesy of Semiose, Paris,
Photograph by Aurélien Mole.
The project will take place on Avenue Winston Churchill in Paris.
“Beyond the glass ceiling, our public program is also a source of pride,”
Clément Delépine
WW: The fair seems to have energized the Paris cultural landscape.
Clément Delépine: Absolutely. The alignment extends beyond the fair—across institutions, galleries, and the broader ecosystem. Paris is vibrant right now. In the early 2000s, the city was more closed-off, less welcoming. Today, it has repositioned itself as a cultural capital, and we’re mapping intersections between visual art and other creative fields—fashion, culinary arts, design, literature. Everything feels alive.
Courtesy of Matthieu Salvaing and Loulou.
“The alignment extends beyond the fair—across institutions, galleries, and the broader ecosystem,”
Clément Delépine
WW: Who are some of the fair first-timers to watch?
CD: We’re committed to supporting young French galleries like XOXO, and helping others transition into the main sector. Pauline Pavec, for instance, is presenting overlooked women artists like Marie Bracquemond, whose career was suppressed by her husband. Tina Kim is bringing Li Xin Jia, and Commonwealth and Council will show a solo by Gala Porras-Kim, whose work questions institutions and narratives. We’ll also see fresh perspectives from galleries like Gauli Zetter, with work by Ethan Assouline, and newcomers such as Crèvecœur presenting Yuni Kimura. The goal is to make the upstairs as exciting as the downstairs, a place where seasoned collectors spot tomorrow’s blue chips, and where younger collectors feel they belong.
Art Basel Paris 2024; Courtesy of Art Basel.
“The goal is to make the upstairs as exciting as the downstairs,”
Clément Delépine
What to Know
Don’t Miss
New voices like Pauline Pavec, Tina Kim, and Crèvecœur alongside powerhouse galleries.
Why it Matters
Art Basel Paris cements the city as a global cultural capital.
Dates
October 22-23.
Venue
Grand Palais, Paris.
Special Program
Collaborations with Petit Palais and Palais d’Iéna, supported by Miu Miu.
More about Art Basel Paris
Art Basel Paris 2024; Courtesy of Art Basel.
In Galeries, 179 leading dealers—from Parisian anchors like Mennour, Galerie Christophe Gaillard, and Thaddaeus Ropac to international forces including kaufmann repetto, Acquavella, and Landau Fine Art—will unveil a sweep of Modern, postwar, and contemporary works.
Debuts from Voloshyn Gallery, Crèvecœur, 47 Canal, Lodovico Corsini, David Nolan, Jan Kaps, The Approach, Stevenson, Soft Opening, and Chapter NY join solo highlights: Evelyn Taocheng Wang with Carlos/Ishikawa, Gala Porras-Kim with Commonwealth and Council, Jasper Marsalis with Emalin, Binta Diaw with Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, and Abraham Lincoln Walker with Andrew Edlin.
