For its return to the Grand Palais, the 27th edition of the fair features a selection of 26 Solo Shows dotted around the fair which allow visitors to discover or rediscover in detail the work of modern, contemporary and emerging artists.

As far as historical artists are concerned, Galerie Claude Lemand has chosen to put the “transfigurative” work of Shafic Abboud (1926-2004) in the spotlight. Combining influences from the Middle East and the West, this Lebanese painter close to the New School of Paris was one of the few Arab artists to take part in the first Biennale de Paris in 1959. Oniris.Art is paying tribute to Vera Molnár (1924-2023) with a solo show that bears witness to her connection with abstract geometry and use of computers in the 1970s to produce line drawings, which can be considered the ancestors of today’sNFTs. Galerie Ritsch-Fisch is focusing on the work of A.C.M. (1951-2023), a self-taught sculptor who is known for his works made from reclaimed materials that explore the limits of form and texture, while reflecting on art brut and contemporary art. Galerie Ditesheim & Maffei Fine Art is presenting a series of drawings, pastels and paintings by American artist Irving Petlin (1934-2018) in an exhibit thatevokes the spirit of this artist whose symbolist-like figurative works from the 1960s were inspired by Munch, Van Gogh and Odilon Redon.

Solo shows of contemporary artists include Loïc Le Groumellec (1957), whose recent production is showcased by Galerie Françoise Livinec. This key figure on the French scene tirelessly explores recurrent motifs (crosses, menhirsand houses) in compositions imbued with an enigmatic and silent monumentality. Textile art used as a feminine means of artistic expression is at the heart of the work of Emma Talbot (1969). British artist Talbot, whose work is presented on the stand of Mucciaccia Gallery, won the Max Mara Art Prize for Women in 2020 and was selected for the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. At Art Paris, she is exhibiting a selection of drawings, silk paintings and sculptures in which this feminine means of expression takes concrete form in simple figures, mythological motifs, intimate suggestions and rhythmic evocations. At Galerie Irène Laub, the winner of the “Prix de la jeune peinture belge” in 1999, Belgian artist Gauthier Hubert (1967), is presenting an ensemble of satirical and enigmatic portraits painted in bold and vibrant colours. Visitors to the Galerie Barbier stand will discover an Enki Bilal (1951) solo show with a series of original illustrations from the French comic book artist and film director’s recent comic series "Bug", which deals with the subject of corporeal hybridisation. The Claudia Lavegas (1968) solo show entitled nature cinétique ou cinétisme organique? at Galerie Wagner explores the architecture of the "churuata" (a round communal house with a conical thatched roof). In what can be considered anarchitectural, environmental and spiritual manifesto, the Venezuelan artist uses organic materials such as raffia to produce circular geometric compositions inspired by these constructions of the Amazonian Indians. She applies thousands of lines of acrylic paint to create mineral-coloured furrows that establish a link with the country, its relief and history.

In the Promises sector focusing on emerging artists, the current trend for figurative art is amply illustrated in the work of Singaporean artist Israfil Ridhwan (Cuturi Gallery),whose paintings of simple and intimate moments combine personal introspection and a narrative imbued with emotion; Costa Rican artist Luciano Goizueta (La Galería Rebelde), whose landscapes play with colour and light, realism and abstraction, geography and the specific nature of time spent travelling; and finally the work of Chinese painter Killion Huang (Edji Gallery), whose monumental installation juxtaposes 25 works on paper that alternate with 25 mirrors to underline the performative nature of social media, where supposedly private and intimate moments – more often than not staged in the most minute details – are made public. Another adept of figuration is Katia Bourdarel in whose work the question of the body and nature are central, but always with an underlying mythological and poetic dimension. Her solo show at Galerie Renard Hacker is part of the fair’s theme Immortal: a focus on figurative painting in France.

Elsewhere in the Promises sector, La peau de l'ours (Brussels) is highlighting “The Dreamer”, a series by French artist Yoann Estevenin who works across various mediums from ceramics to pastels and paintings on painted wood. Displaying a fascination for all things strange, 
22,48 m² (Romainville) presents a Marco Emmanuele solo show. Developing an original approach to landscape painting, the Italian artist works at the crossroads of figuration and abstraction, experimenting with materials such as sand, glass powder and rabbit skin glue. Tomas Umrian Contemporary (Bratislava) is focusing on the work of Slovakian artist Lucia Tallová. By assembling antique furniture, old photos, second-hand objects and collages of different images, her works give rise to new real and fictional stories that give a new lease of life to the photographic medium and the objects themselves. C+N Gallery Canepaneri (Genoa, Milan) has chosen to exhibit sculptures made with waste from electronic equipment by French artist Gillian Brett, who was awarded the Prix Révélations Emerige - Villa Noailles in 2022 for her exploration of the relationship between nature, culture and contemporary technology. Salon H (Paris) has decided to focus us on Felipe Rezende, a rising star on the Brazilian contemporary art scene, whose paintings and drawings on truck tarpaulins elaborate subtle narratives that are poetical and yet eminently political. Finally, Chiguer art contemporain (Montreal, Quebec) is presenting a solo show of drawings and sculptures grounded in shamanic culture by Inuit artist Pitseolak Qimirpik.

Solo shows featuring emerging artists can also be seen in the general sector.

Cuban American artist Rafael Domenech had the idea of transforming the stand of 193 Gallery into a virtual library. The project includes the furniture (table, bench, stool, lamp) and a group of book-paintings, objects that Domenech fashions from materials and photos taken in the city where he is at the time and which take the form of a book that the visitor can activate and unfold. Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière focuses on Belgian artist Jesse Willems. Basing his approach on his experience as a photographer and collage artist, Willems imagines an original combination by first cutting up his prints and then “wrapping” them in pieces of old paper, before reconstituting the original form of the image from its puzzle-like pieces by working with their geometric shapes. The paintings of Swiss artist Mattania Bösiger on the stand of Fabienne Levy present everyday objects painted from reference images taken from various sources (online images, 3D scans, images generated by AI etc) that blur the boundaries between what is real and what is artificial. At Galerie Maria Lund, a Marlon Wobst solo show entitled Plouf, Platsch, Splash features images of floating bodies, human figures that seem to appear and disappear and which are portrayed in paintings, ceramic sculptures and felt tapestries. At Galerie Capazza, Anaïs Lelièvre, who is currently resident artist at Poush, has devised a multidimensional installation combining drawing and ceramics to evoke a fragmentary landscape inspired by places the artist has seen. Finally from Australia, on the stand of Chalk Horse, Clara Adolphs explores the notions of time and memory with oil paintings that draw inspiration from found photographs (Sydney) and, at Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery (London), Aboriginal artist Naomi Hobson exhibits colourful abstract compositions inspired by the traditional lands of her ancestors in Queensland.