Paris Reclaims Its “Golden Age”: Luxury Brands Drive Art Boom After a Century
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
Paris has reemerged as a global contemporary art capital during last month’s Art Basel Paris (art fair), drawing collectors, major auctions and museum shows into a packed “Art Week.” The event outperformed Frieze London and introduced a new VVIP Day that spurred brisk sales—major works sold for over $10 million, and Christie’s Paris auction revenues rose 23% year-on-year. Analysts say art capital shifted to Paris as London faced Brexit-related costs and Switzerland’s financial secrecy waned. Two French super-rich patrons—Bernard Arnault of LVMH and François Pinault of Kering—helped reshape the city by opening museums and transferring vast private collections to Paris. Pinault’s renovated 18th-century ‘Bourse de Commerce’ (museum) staged a notable “Minimal” show highlighting Asian and women artists alongside Western figures. Luxury brands increasingly integrate art into marketing and patronage, creating a brand-led ecosystem that blends commerce, culture, shopping and gastronomy—reviving Paris as a 100-year return to a “Golden Age” of contemporary art.
