Paris and London clash again. The historic rivalry between France and England has recently developed into a battle for the art capital of the European continent. The battle was fought throughout the month of October in the two cities that hosted two of the world’s biggest trade fairs: Frieze, the long-running London event that just turned 20 years old, and Paris+, the one in the French capital is promoted by the Swiss giant Art Basel, which concluded its second edition last Sunday. The outcome of the game is unclear. There are those who defend London’s continued dominance, as the numbers continue to show. Who observes a peaceful dual capital between the two cities. And who predicts a gradual shift in center of gravity towards Paris, encouraged by a symbolic capital of desire: The New York Times has just named it the “new darling” of the art sector. “Paris+ is like a new puppy,” confirms Olivier Babin, gallerist at Clearing with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Brussels. And who doesn’t like puppies?
Several factors explain this shift in art’s tectonic plates. The first is undoubtedly Brexit. And not just because of the erosion of London’s international aura that this isolation reflection gave rise to, but also because of a purely economic question. With the exit from the Common Market, art purchases made in London by European collectors or institutions will be punished with tariffs of between 5% and 20%, which in recent years has led to the largest galleries opening offices in Paris. The first was David Zwirner, the most important gallery owner in the world according to the 2023 Power100 list, followed by London’s White Cube and New York’s Skarstedt and LGDR. Last up was the almighty Hauser & Wirth, which has just opened a space, its 17th to open worldwide, in an elegant mansion on the right side of the French capital.
Gallery exhibitor Pilar Corrias with works by Sophie von Hellermann at Frieze London on October 11th. Linda Nylind (Frieze)
Regent’s Park, October 11th. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, actors including Andrew Garfield, Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh, and musicians including Neil Tennant, Jarvis Cocker and FKA Twigs strolled among the Frieze London exhibitors at the opening session for VIP collectors. In the same place, only in a more modest tent, the first edition of 2003 took place, much riskier and wilder, when London art experienced a sweet moment after the founding of Tate Modern and the rise of Young British artists. “Everything has changed a lot. At that time, the art world in the city was very small, while today London is a global capital that welcomes new populations that were excluded due to their gender, race and geographical location,” says the fair’s director, Eva Langret. “The rivalry with Paris doesn’t worry me. London is still dominant, but I don’t think we have to choose one or the other,” Langret added. A certain equidistance benefits her: she is French.
In 2022, aided by the near-absolute power of Art Basel, the first edition of Paris+ managed to leave London. This year the British capital has put all its efforts into action. Despite an excessive mastery of painting and an unstoppable tendency towards commercialism, this could have been the best edition in years, in addition to the opening of some of the great exhibitions of 2023, such as the one that the Royal Academy dedicates to Marina Abramovic, icon of pop performance or the one , which the Tate Modern dedicates to Philip Guston, known for his controversial paintings of the Ku Klux Klan. “London has shown its claws. It is important that there is healthy competition. The two cities have the ability to be capitals at the same time. “Paris is rising, but London remains London,” said Italian collector Patrizia Sandretto, who was spontaneously caught in a hallway. In Maisterra Valbuena, one of the four Spanish galleries exhibiting in Frieze, they agreed with the diagnosis. “I don’t see any wear and tear. Its visual culture is equally powerful. For us, contact with the Paris market is more difficult. “We feel less comfortable,” said his co-director Pedro Maisterra.
The opening day of Paris+, last week in the French capital, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Art Basel
Grand Palais Ephémère, October 18th. Paris+ opened its doors in a makeshift tent in front of the Eiffel Tower, waiting for work on its official headquarters, the centenary Grand Palais, to be completed in 2024. There was an absurd feeling of euphoria in the French capital, just days after the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, with terror alerts on high and bed bug psychosis the neurosis of the moment. “Paris+ reflects the cultural dynamism that animates the city, its dynamism and its attractiveness,” explained its director Clément Delépine. And in a telling misstep, he claimed that Paris already concentrates “the majority of art transactions in Europe, 54% of the entire continent,” a figure that would only be accurate if the UK were left out. “I mean the European Union,” he immediately corrected. This semantic confusion is growing: some experts interviewed – particularly the Americans who live in abundance in the French capital with which they have a long love affair – equated Paris with Europe, as if the United Kingdom were already something else.
“London has shown its claws. It is important that there is healthy competition. “The two cities have the potential to be capitals at the same time,” says collector Patrizia Sandretto.
On the first day of the fair, Zwirner sold a painting by Kerry James Marshall for 5.7 million euros, the best sale of the month, followed by works by Alice Neel and Marlene Dumas for around 3 million euros. For its part, Hauser & Wirth managed to sell the 30 paintings of the exhibition with the artist Henry Taylor, from the ranks of the new African American figuration, praised by Barack Obama and Kendrick Lamar, before opening the doors of his new gallery in Paris.
“The war between the two cities is taking place, but above all in the media,” says Marc Payot, co-president of Hauser & Wirth, ironically. “London has seen better days for political and economic reasons, but it remains a major cultural force. On the other hand, Paris, a city with undeniable historical importance since the time of the avant-garde, has experienced a revival through its new museums and foundations.” It refers to artistic projects related to the luxury sector, always ubiquitous in Paris, such as the LVMH Foundation by Bernard Arnault (which has just opened a historical exhibition on Rothko), the Stock Exchange by François Pinault or the new headquarters that Cartier will open together with the Louvre, which have transformed the home of cultural protectionism into a new paradise for private initiative. The paradox is that in ultra-liberal London, public museums like the two Tate and the National Gallery have the say.
The entrance to the Frieze London trade fair in Regent’s Park in the British capital at its opening in mid-October.Frieze
Despite the assumption that Paris will win, London continues to prevail in the battle of stubborn numbers. The annual report of Art Basel and UBS, a reference in the sector, points out that the French market accounts for 7% of global art trade transactions, a far cry from the 18% that the United Kingdom accumulates, despite signs of incipient erosion and the impending Danger of inflation. Another indicator is that auction houses that previously focused on the British capital are now also looking to Paris.
A few days ago, an auction at the Paris headquarters of Christie’s – an auction house founded by the British and whose current owner is the Frenchman Pinault – managed to win a work by Miró for 20.7 million euros, making it one of the biggest sales of the auction to complete. Season. Until recently, this type of stratospheric bidding took place in London. The situation has changed: in 2022, Sotheby’s organized 70 auctions in Paris, 140% more than a decade ago. A sculpture on display at Frieze summed up well what the situation in the British capital is increasingly looking like: Flo (2022) by the duo Elmgreen & Dragset, a sculpture depicting a sad child with tears flowing from her eyes despite a giant illness Trophy in your hands.
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