As the holiday season approaches, Paris stands true to holding its title as the ‘City of Lights’, as the French capital is decked in a glittering display of festive street lights. 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. At Hauser & Wirth discover Jeffery Gibson’s new paintings and infamous punching bags, while at Carpenters Workshop Gallery the works of Charlotte Perriand to Pierre Jeanneret are celebrated. After last month's Paris Photo 2025, photography is still at the heart of many exhibitions including Inez & Vinoodh’s series created with the iPhone 17, to a retrospective on Denise Bellon and her documentation of Occupation in France during the Second World War. 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 December 2025
Jeffrey Gibson: This is dedicated to the one I love
Hauser & Wirth Paris until 20 December 2025
American painter and sculptor Jeffery Gibson marks his first solo exhibition in France at Hauser & Wirth. The title of the show nods to the feeling of empathy and how we respond in times of crisis. The exhibition focuses on Gibson’s new paintings which vary in scale. Also on show are his quirky punching bags, along with hanging cloaks and beaded paintings.
Radical Making
Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Paris until 23 December 2025
The designs by Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé, and Pierre Jeanneret are at the heart of the exhibition. Accompanying this are contemporary pieces by Vincenzo De Cotiis, Maarten Baas, and DRIFT. Across these varying generations, the exhibition explores how artists and designers transform concepts into material pieces.
Gareth Mason: The Spoil Heap
Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Paris until 23 December 2025
Clay’s contradicting properties are the focus of Gareth Mason’s exhibition. In its construction of being turned into an object it is susceptible to damage, yet it is resistant to decay. The potter of 35 years explores how it can be used in a variety of ways. Through repeated firings and transformations, Mason finds vitality in imperfection, seeing spoil as both wreckage and treasure.
Inez & Vinoodh: Think Love
The Ravestijn Gallery, India Mahdavi’s Project Room #21 until 12 December 2025
In a preview of Inez & Vinoodh’s retrospective at Kunstmuseum Den Haag opening in March 2026,they are showing images from the project ‘Think Love' at India Mahdavi’s Project Room #21, in Paris. This project showcases Inez & Vinoodh’s series created with the iPhone 17 in Marfa Texas.‘Think Love’, created as part of the project ‘Joy, in 3 Parts’ is a series of portraits of couple Charles Matadin and Natalie Brumley. Curated by ex-director of photography for The New York Times Magazine Kathy Ryan, the project also featured Mickalene Thomas and Trunk Xu.
Writer: Amah-Rose Abrams
100 years of Art Deco
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs until April 26, 2026
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs celebrates a century of Art Deco at the museum with a tour of nearly 1000 works. The exhibition spans from jewellery by Cartier, to the collections of Nelly de Rothschild and Jacques Doucet, and iconic Art Deco designers such as Eileen Gray. There is also a reconstruction of the Orient Express.
Cat People: Artists and their Cats
La Galerie, centre d'art contemporain de Noisy-le-Sec until 13 December
This exhibition is intentionally ironic. Curated by Marc Bembekoff , the showcase explores the complex attachment human attachment to cats through different thematic approaches such as; the stray cat, kitsch and anthropomorphism.
Denise Bellon. A Wandering Gaze
The Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme until 8 March, 2026
This exhibition explores the career of Denise Bellon, a Paris-born photographer from the 1930s, in a never-before-seen retrospective. Bellon was a pioneer of photojournalism and a key figure in surrealism documenting in particular the period of Occupation in France during the Second World War.
Meriem Bennani: Sole crushing
Lafayette Anticipations until 8 February 2026
Moroccan artist Meriem Bennani presents her solo exhibition ‘Sole Crushing’ a flip-flop musical composition mixing orchestrated symphony with utter riot. Spread throughout the floors of the building two hundred flip-flops come to life striking different surfaces with its soles creating unusual sounds. This is designed to evoke the noise of a moving crowd, stadium, protest of even a dakka marrakchia, a traditional Moroccan musical ceremony
General Exhibition
Fondation Cartier until 23 August 2026
Drawing upon the architectural heritage of the building, 'General Exhibition' charts 40 years of contemporary art at the Fondation Cartier. The exhibition takes over the space with experimentation and quirky installations from miniature architecture to photography
Panorama
Perrotin Matignon until 20 December 2025
View of the group exhibition 'Panorama' at Perrotin Sal de Bal, Paris, 2025. Photo: Tanguy Beurdeley. ©Johan Creten/ADAGP, Paris, 2025. Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin
'Panorama' is a group exhibition at Perrotin Matignon. This collective exhibition includes special presentations by Hans Hartung, Lee Bae and Ali Banisadr among others. From sculpture to spray paint, still life to vibrant pop art-inspired works, the exhibition spans 7 rooms and the stairs of the gallery.
Bilal Hamdad: Paname
Petit Palais until 8 February 2026
Painter Bilal Hamdad creates Parisian scenes rooted in urban solitude. Here, the exhibition brings together 20 of his works which invite visitors to explore the paradox of feeling lonely, but never alone. Hamdad draws inspiration from Rubens, Manet and Courbet and incorporates subtle references such as Baroque aesthetics and a touch of Manet’s still life.
Otobong Nkanga: "I dreamt of you in colours"
The Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris until 22 February 2026
Belgium-based artist Otobong Nkanga draws inspiration from her own personal history creating imagery of humans and landscapes. For "I dreamt of you in colours" Nkanga brings together a series of photographs and drawings from her career which follows recurring subjects such as mining extractions, and the cultural values tied to natural resources. The artist shares, ‘I think of the Earth as a being, like our body: water, air, tree, stone, plant are beings like our body.’
Tyler Mitchell — Wish This Was Real
The MEP until 25 January 2026
Photographer Tyler Mitchell presents ‘Wish This Was Real’, his first solo exhibition in France. The imagery explores the themes of self determination, and seeing beauty in everyday life. This is then split into three sections that follow his own personal artistic evolution. To begin the viewer looks at his early influences of skateboarding culture. This is followed by “Postcolonial/Pastoral" ,images of paradise which have underlying hints of history and social identity through staged scenes in nature. In the third chapter “Family/Fraternity” celebrates the resilience and heritage of Black communities, captured through family portraits.
Polaraki - Thousand polaroids by Araki Nobuyoshi
Musée Guimet until 12 January 2026
Polaraki looks at Araki Nobuyoshi polaroid photography. The Japanese photographer has been a key figure in the history of Japanese and international photography since the 1960s. The works on display were produced between 1997 and 2024,and were gradually collected from mainly French and Japanese galleries over the last 25 years by collector Stéphane André, who donated them to the Guimet Museum.
Migrations & Climate
Palais de la Porte Dorée until 5 April 2026
For the first time, the Palais de la Porte Dorée is displaying a global exhibition across all its spaces, including the Museum and Aquarium, titled 'Migrations & Climate'. The topic is poignant and pressing looking at those affected by climate change. This is centred on human movement, shown through art, science and personal anecdotes. Over 200 documentary photographs, coupled with art, testimonies and videos, offers a wide scope on the topic bringing to the forefront a huge societal debate to rethink how we inhabit the planet.
Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, Pontus Hulten
Grand Palais until 4 January 2026
This exhibition explores the artistic world of couple Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) and Jean Tinguely (1925–1991), captured through the lens of their close friend Pontus Hulten. The images map their work in shaping a ‘free and revolutionary’ art form, and their shared vision of creation as an act of rebellion against the norm.
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
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