Beyond Art Basel Paris, works that shift how we look

At Paris Internationale on Quai de Valmy, 56 galleries and five non-profit spaces are gathered for the fair’s 12th edition, which runs until 24 October. Its deliberately compact format encourages direct contact between artists, gallerists and visitors, and gives the fair a less pressured atmosphere than the larger market events.

Among the booths, works by Kostis Velonis at The Breeder, Keith Farquhar at Kendall Koppe and Lucy Beech with Champ Lacombe stand out. The programme also includes a 23 October talk on building a code of conduct for an art organisation, a reminder that the fair is also a place where the ethics of art-making and display are being discussed.

In public space, Tracey Emin has placed three monumental bronzes at the Trocadéro, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. The female figures move from withdrawal to submission and finally to defiance, and the setting gives the work a second reading: a private register of grief and survival becomes visible in one of the city’s busiest places.

Elsewhere, Kutluğ Ataman’s Kuba is installed in the Chapelle des Petits-Augustins, while at the Louvre Kader Attia and Elizabeth Peyton present works made during their residencies. For artists and drawing or painting enthusiasts, these projects are especially instructive in how they handle looking: Attia links image-making to colonial violence, Peyton moves between historical and contemporary portraiture, and Ibrahim Mahama turns industrial materials into a layered account of history and future.