Vanity Fair and Art Basel Paris Celebrate an Official Opening Party
A lot of restaurants in Paris have some serious history. Just take the stately building in the woods that houses Laurent, a haute spot in the Tuileries Garden. Originally King Louis XIVâs hunting lodge, taken over as a guinguette during the French Revolution, refurbished by King Louis Philippe during the Bourbon Restoration as he constructed the Champs-ĂlysĂ©esâLaurent is one of the most atmospheric spots to grab a meal in town, the shrubbery hiding you away from the legions of tourists marching toward the Arc de Triomphe.
And in line with this illustrious history, on Tuesday Vanity Fair and Art Basel Paris partnered to take over the entirety of Laurentâs stately anterooms, ballroom, and courtyard in celebration of the official opening party for the fairâs first edition at the Grand Palais. Look, obviously weâre a bit biased here, but I can objectively say that, having been to dozens (maybe hundreds) of art fairs over the yearsâthey donât usually have opening-night cocktail parties like this. There was Champagne, like endless trays of Champagne, and foie gras so good one cursed that this stuff is banned in certain coastal states. There was a lot of caviar, courtesy Volzhenka. Iâm not too good with the metric system, but after some googling, all those tins amounted to several pounds of caviar, which I think is the correct amount. People were smoking real cigarettes, early and often.
A bit of context: Itâs technically the first year of Art Basel Paris. In the previous two years it had been known as Paris+ par Art Basel, and operated in a temporary space near the Eiffel Tower. But now that itâs moved into the newly renovated Grand Palais, with its roughly $500 million facelift, it joins the ranks of the great places to buy contemporary art on planet earth.
Asher Norberg and Antwaun SargentPhotograph by Sam Wong.
On the eve of the fair, many of the dealers with million-dollar paintings to sell the next day swung by Laurent for some bubbly before, after, orâin the case of several plans-scrambling guestsâin lieu of their scheduled dinners. On the early side, Regen Projects founder Shaun Caley Regen swung through with power agent Beth Swofford, one of the foremost of the movie business collectors in Los Angeles. Anton Kern squeezed through the entrance, flute in hand, and Karma founder Brendan Dugan came by en route to the MusĂ©e dâArt Moderne de Paris gala. Victoria Siddall, the newly named director of the National Portrait Gallery in London, arrived with Guggenheim curator Katherine Brinson. Artist Carsten Höller has been hosting a Paris pop-up version of his Stockholm restaurant, Brutalisten, (he also has a sculpture on view at the Place VendĂŽme, near the Ritz Paris) but managed to stop by on the early side, as did artist Claudia Comte.
Several artists had come from the Fondation Louis Vuitton, where LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault had invited a select few to view the new Tom Wesselmann retrospective that also incorporates works by contemporary artists in dialogue with the late Pop master. Lauren Halsey, fresh off the big show at The Serpentine in London, went straight to the Frank Gehryâdesigned museum from Gare du Nord to see her work installed in the show, then came right to Laurent for the Basel x VF event.
âDid you see the Wesselmann cutouts on the top floor? Crazy stuff,â she said.
Radhika JonesPhotograph by Sam Wong.
Gagosianâs Antwaun Sargent had been at the museum earlier, and chatted with Vanity Fair editor in chief Radhika Jones about artist Derrick Adamsâs suite of works responding to Wesselmann. In a nod to Pop art absurdism, Sargent noted that while he appeared to be wearing jeans, he wasnât. They were actually Bottega Veneta designer Matthieu Blazyâs trompe-lâoeil âdenimâ that turns out to be leather upon the touch.
Nix Lecourt-MansionPhotograph by Sam Wong.
James Murdoch, whose Lupa Systems owns a considerable stake in the whole global Art Basel enterprise, arrived with his wife, Kathryn, and was spotted deep in conversation with former director Marc Spiegler in a secret velvet-lined jewel box bar. Right, there was a secret barâaccessible through a fake door that looked like a bookcase, just as in the movies. Fellow ex-Basel head honcho Sam Keller was there, along with a battalion of current staffers: Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz, Art Basel Paris director ClĂ©ment DelĂ©pine, and Art Basel fairs director Vincenzo de Bellis. In the frenzy outside, amid a sea of glam locals puffing on slim cigarettes, I spotted dealers Steve Henry, Nicole Russo, Ellie Rines, and Bridget Donahue with artist Martine Syms, who has a big show now open at Lafayette Anticipations.
Dunja Gottweis
Photograph by Sam Wong.
At one point I ran into Bridget Finn, who is set to open her first Art Basel Miami Beach as director in just a few short monthsâjust weeks away, really. Looking around at the party going full tilt, she couldnât help but think beyond the fair in Paris.
âWhat if weâŠdid this in Miami?â Finn said.
Photograph by Sam Wong.
Craig Hepburn and Irene KimPhotograph by Sam Wong.
Photograph by Sam Wong.
Janaye FurmanPhotograph by Sam Wong.
Simone MarchettiPhotograph by Sam Wong.
Era MyrtezajPhotograph by Sam Wong.
Nine D’Urso and guest.Photograph by Sam Wong.
Cristian Albu, Jonathan Cheung and guests.Photograph by Sam Wong.
Josh Abraham and Daniel OglanderPhotograph by Sam Wong.
Princess Al-SenussiPhotograph by Sam Wong.
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