Raphaël Barontini, Sanité Belair, 2023. Photo by Claire Delannoy. Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim
Paris’s Art Scene Is Buzzing With New Energy. Here Are the Must-See Shows This Fall.
In recent years, the City of Light has reemerged as a beacon for new artists. International galleries have flocked to the Right Bank’s elegant Avenue Matignon and the cool, narrow streets of Le Marais.
Paris has a certain je ne sais quoi that attract collectors from everywhere, which is one reason gallerist Mariane Ibrahim elected to open on Avenue Matignon in 2021. “We see people we would not normally see in Chicago,” she says, referring to her gallery’s flagship location.
Enthusiasm for contemporary art has spread to some of the city’s most revered landmarks. When Paris+ is in town, for instance, Raphaël Barontini will become the first artist of African descent to show at the Panthéon. Ibrahim, Barontini’s gallerist, notes that the installation, titled We Could Be Heroes, questions who has been omitted from the monument. “It is a way to reconnect with illustrious characters from the West Indies who fought against slavery and have not received military recognition for that,” she says.
