On Wednesday morning, the first VIPs queuing up outside the Grand Palais for Art Basel Paris were bathed in sunshine. Inside the historic, glass-covered exhibition hall it was like a greenhouse – hot and sweaty – as the mercury flirted with 80 degrees Fahrenheit.By Thursday afternoon, though, the 124-year-old building was taking on water as heavy rain battered Paris. Several galleries had to move fast to stop the leaks damaging their paintings.
Art Basel said in a statement that it had called in extra art handlers to help the affected exhibitors protect their inventories. “Due to heavy rainfall on the afternoon of Thursday 17 October, several water leaks were reported on the show floor under the nave of the Grand Palais,” a fair spokesperson said. “The Grand Palais’s historic glass roof is prone to minimal leaks in situations of extreme rain. We remain in constant contact with the GrandPalaisRmn, the organisation responsible for the venue, who are determining possible actions. Since the morning of Friday 18 October, roofers are inspecting the Grand Palais’s roof structure to address the situation.”
Lisson, which has spaces in London, New York, Beijing, Shanghai, and LA, was one of the galleries that got wet. “Our booth was affected by rainwater leaking from the ceiling of the Grand Palais and we needed to re-hang some works,” a Lisson spokesperson told The Art Newspaper. The gallery’s display includes works by Olga de Amaral – titled Viento Oro and Nudo 23 (plata 5) (both 2014) – which sold on Wednesday for $800,000 and $400,000 respectively.
Hauser & Wirth scrambled to waterproof its booth by installing covers, which worked, a gallery spokesperson said. A Kazimir Malevich painting – Suprematism, 18th Construction (1915) – that sold for more than $30 million at Sotheby’s is the booth’s centerpiece. It’s currently on hold.
No damage has been reported to any artworks at Art Basel Paris. The galleries showing on the fair’s top level, which are generally focused on emerging artists, dodged the leaks.
The Réunion des Musées Nationaux (RMN), the company that runs the Grand Palais, said in a statement: “On the morning of Friday 18 October, rope access technicians were dispatched to the glass roof to identify and repair the anomalies.”
From 2020 to 2024, the huge building was closed while it underwent a $500 million upgrade, which is why Art Basel Paris was forced to wait until its third edition to use the venue.
The Art Basel spokesperson added that “the current severe weather conditions in Paris have led to water ingress in several historic buildings across the city.”
