- The Church of Our Becoming
- Arthur Jafa ‘Corps et âmes’ (Bodies and Souls)
- Céleste Boursier-Mougenot 'Clinamen'
- ‘Euphoria: Art is in the Air’
- Fashion on the Move #3
- Wolfgang Tillmans’ ‘Rien ne nous y préparait – Tout nous y préparait’
- Copyists
- Andreas Gursky
- Marie-Laure de Decker: ‘The image as commitment’
- Brice Marden ‘ Works on Paper’
- Rita Ackermann ‘Doubles’
- ‘David Hockney 25’
An epicentre of radical art movements past – from impressionism to surrealism – Paris is rooted in art history. Its contemporary scene remains a dynamic attraction, with a wealth of exhibitions on display across the city, from shows of new works to career-long retrospectives. We are here to help plan your next visit with our frequently updated guide to the most enticing Paris art exhibitions.
If you are planning a getaway to the UK capital, here are the best art exhibitions in London this month
Paris art exhibitions: what to see in August 2025
The Church of Our Becoming
Dover Street Market Paris until 24 August 2025
Yulia Mahr digs beneath the skin in her modern update of classic Greek statues in Paris. In Dover Street Market’s courtyard stands thirteen portraits, each measuring three and a half metres tall. The curves of the human form mimic classical Greek statues, yet these works eschew the idealism of ancient sculptures, zoning in instead on the very human attributes of the living body, whether trans, non-binary or fluid. In Yulia Mahr’s works, sculpted men and passive women are sidestepped in a wider celebration of beauty. Photographed with a thermal camera, they dig beneath the skin to look at what lies beneath.
Writer Hannah Silver
Read more here
Arthur Jafa ‘Corps et âmes’ (Bodies and Souls)
La Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection until 18 August 2025
Two new films by artist and filmmaker Arthur Jafa point a lens on Black American culture. Key African American figures are celebrated, from people like Barack Obama, Miles Davis, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. The film is pieced together with collage and montage of images taken from the media, and then coupled with gospel or R&B songs.
Céleste Boursier-Mougenot 'Clinamen'
La Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection until 21 September, 2025
Also on at La Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection is the multi-sensory installation by artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot. Avid fashion week watchers may have seen this tranquil installation as a backdrop for the presentation of the Saint Laurent spring-summer 2026 menswear collection on June 24, 2025. The installation ‘Clinamen’ features an 18-metre-diameter pool, while white ceramic bowls float and move on the water, triggering sounds as they move. This immersive aquatic and musical installation invites visitors to daydream.
‘Euphoria: Art is in the Air’
Grand Palais until 7 September 2025
First conceived by the Balloon Museum in Rome, ‘Euphoria: Art is in the Air’ has arrived in Paris, with a series of immersive works. The inflatable installation includes works by contemporary artists such as A.A. Murakami, Hyperstudio, Carsten Höller, Philippe Parreno and numerous others. In quirky and fun ways, each artist plays with scales and perceptions.
Fashion on the Move #3
Palais Galliera until 12 October 2025
Coinciding with the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the Palais Galliera presented a series of exhibitions focused on the way fashion dresses the body as it moves. It features garments by Chanel, Hermès, Rykiel and other designers, with collections of swimwear to sneakers. The final installation (which runs until 12 October) focuses on winter sports, and also features the armour of the rider who crossed the Seine on the metal horse Zeus during the opening ceremony of the Paris Games on 26 July 2024, accompanied by other garments retracing the history of fashion from the eighteenth century to the present day.
palaisgalliera.paris.fr
Wolfgang Tillmans’ ‘Rien ne nous y préparait – Tout nous y préparait’
Centre Pompidou’s Bibliothèque Publique d’Information until 22 September 2025
As the Centre Pompidou’s library is emptied ahead of the venue’s five-year restoration, the German photographer moves in for a final fling of a Paris exhibition. Rien ne nous y préparait – Tout nous y préparait (Nothing could have prepared us – Everything could have prepared us), is Tillmans’ first solo show in Paris in over two decades, and while it takes in works from throughout his career, he approached the curation of works as more of a spatial narrative, his works in conversation with the library, than a traditional retrospective.
Writer: Billie Muraben
Read the full review here
Copyists
Centre Pompidou-Metz until 2 February 2026
Contemporary artists are invited to copy works from the Louvre in a celebration of the copyist’s art, a collaboration with Centre Pompidou-Metz. ‘Art which was once considered heritage is material for contemporary creativity,’ says co-curator Donatien Grau, who heads Contemporary Programmes at the Louvre. ‘This exhibition shows this dialogue.’
Writer: Upasana Das
Read the full review here
Andreas Gursky
Gagosian rue de Castiglione until 30 August 2025
Four photographs by Andreas Gursky go on display at Gagosian in Paris. The exhibition consists of two new images, one recent, and one from the beginning of his career in 1980. Gurksy explores the chaos of contemporary life, and captures built and natural environments with rich details that take on a painterly quality.
gagosian.com
Marie-Laure de Decker: ‘The image as commitment’
La MEP until 28 September 2025
Marie-Laure de Decker, Da Nang, Vietnam , 1971-1972
This is the first retrospective dedicated to photojournalist Marie-Laure de Decker. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, she made her mark in a largely male-dominated field documenting major conflicts such as the Vietnam War, apartheid in South Africa, and the Chilean dictatorship. Rather than seeking shocking images, she preferred to capture the dignity of individuals, exploring the off-screen aspects of war. Her photographs do not depict violence head-on, but rather reveal it differently—through the faces and stories of those who experience it.
www.mep-fr.org
Brice Marden ‘ Works on Paper’
Gagosian until August 2 2025
The works by the late American artist Brice Marden (1938–2023) are on show at Gagosian. Marden was known for his minimalistic style, which was complemented by abstract expressionism. Inspired by his travels and the art of calligraphy, his work explores the vast world of line and colour. In this series of works on show, visitors can see Marden’s work on paper in the form of ink and other mediums.
Rita Ackermann ‘Doubles’
Hauser & Wirth until 4 October 2025
Hungarian artist Rita Ackermann presents a new series of paintings and large, related works on paper. Inspired by French culture, in particular French-Swiss film director and screenwriter Jean-Luc Godard and French theorist Paul Virilio, Ackermann looks at the theme of the double. She explores more than marking the presence of duality but looks deep into its structure. She blends a mixture of materials which adds dynamism to the works.
‘David Hockney 25’
Fondation Louis Vuitton until 31 August 2025
More than 400 of his works, created between 1955 and 2025, are featured in this colourful show, bringing together a variety of mediums, from oil and acrylic painting, pencil and charcoal drawings to digital works, including those created on an iPad, and video installations. The blossoming of his distinctive figurative style takes shape in portraits, some of friends, some of those close to him as the artist explored his homosexuality.
Writer: Hannah Silver
Read the full review here
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