Art exhibitions to see in Paris in 2025
Paris is treating art lovers to a remarkable selection of exhibitions in 2025, spanning contemporary installations, fashion exhibitions, and retrospectives that celebrate both modern and historical achievements. The city’s iconic venues will host groundbreaking showcases, including Chiharu Shiota’s The Soul Trembles at the Grand Palais, exploring the emotional and physical experience of trauma, and Louvre Couture at the Musée du Louvre, a unique collaboration that brings together renowned designers and the museum’s priceless collections. Additionally, Paris Noir at the Centre Pompidou honours the contributions of Black artists in France. Meanwhile, the Fondation Louis Vuitton presents David Hockney 25, the artist’s largest retrospective to date. Here’s our guide to the must-see art exhibitions in Paris this year.
Chiharu Shiota:The Soul Trembles
Chiharu Shiota Uncertain Journey (« Voyage incertain ») 2016/2024. Cadre métallique, laine rouge. Vue de l’exposition Chiharu Shiota/ The Soul Trembles, Grand Palais, Paris 2024Scenographie Atelier Jodar. © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy. © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist.
#FLODown: The Grand Palais in Paris hosts The Soul Trembles, the largest exhibition ever dedicated to Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota in France. Spanning over 1,200 square metres, the show features seven large-scale installations, sculptures, photographs, drawings, and performance videos. Shiota, known for her monumental installations of interlacing wool yarn, invites viewers into a dreamlike exploration of temporality, movement, and dreams. The exhibition offers a comprehensive look at her 20-year career, co-organised with the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, and presents a profound, immersive experience of her poetic, sensitive art.
Date: 11 December 2024 - 19 March 2025. Location: Grand Palais, 3 avenue du Général Eisenhower - 75008 Paris. Price: from 14 EUR. Book now.
The Flowers of Yves Saint Laurent
Smoking porté par Audrey Marnay. Collection haute couture automne-hiver 1995. Dernier défilé. Centre Pompidou, Paris, 22 janvier 2002. © Yves Saint Laurent © Guy Marineau.
#FLODown: The Flowers of Yves Saint Laurent at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris explores the designer’s deep connection between fashion, nature, and literature. Curated by Olivier Saillard and Gaël Mamine, the exhibition showcases over thirty garments and drawings, featuring floral motifs like lilies, roses, and bougainvillea. Inspired by his personal love of flowers, Saint Laurent’s designs are displayed alongside quotes from Proust, highlighting his innovative use of floral themes in his collections. A collaboration with artist Sam Falls adds a contemporary twist, merging plant-inspired art with couture, it what feels like a timeless celebration of nature and fashion.
Date: 20 September 2024 - 4 May 2025. Location: Yves Saint Laurent Museum Paris, 5 avenue Marceau, 75116 , Paris. Price: from 10 EUR. Book now.
Collective Joy - Learning flamboyance !
Lorraine O'Grady, Art Is. . . (Troupe Front), 1983/2009. Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim (Chicago, Paris, Mexico City) © 2023 Lorraine O’Grady/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.
#FLODown: Collective Joy – Learning Flamboyance! at the Palais de Tokyo explores how communal experiences—from traditional rituals to modern gatherings like rave parties and political demonstrations—foster joy and creativity. Featuring a mix of French and international artists, the exhibition uses interactive installations and a curated archive of around 350 images to highlight expressions of collective happiness across cultures and time periods.
Date: 20 February - 11 May 2025. Location: Palais de Tokyo, Palais de Tokyo, 13 avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris. Price: from 13 EUR. Concessions available. Book now.
Christian Krohg (1852-1925): The People of the North
Christian Krohg (1852-1925). La Barre sous le vent ! [Hardt le], 1882. Oslo, National Museum. © Photo: Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design/ Jaques Lathi.
#FLODown: The Musée d’Orsay’s exhibition on Norwegian artist Christian Krohg is his first major retrospective outside Scandinavia. It highlights his naturalistic and socially engaged works, offering a fresh perspective on Norwegian art from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known for his political activism and empathy for the marginalised, Krohg portrayed themes such as poverty, the plight of women, and the working class. His connections with French artists like Courbet and Manet influenced his dynamic compositions. The exhibition also features portraits of the bohemian intellectuals he befriended in Oslo and explores his controversial novel Albertine, which challenged societal norms.
Date: 25 March - 27 July 2025. Location: Musée d'Orsay, 62 rue de Lille, 75007 Paris.Price: from 16 EUR. Concessions available. Book now.
Louvre Couture
Art and fashion: statement pieces
Christian Dior © Musée du Louvre/Nicolas Bousser.
#FLODown: The Musée du Louvre’s inaugural fashion exhibition, Louvre Couture: Art and Fashion—Statement Pieces, brings together haute couture and art in an engaging showcase. Featuring creations from 45 prestigious fashion houses, including Christian Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Thom Browne, the exhibition draws connections between contemporary fashion and the museum’s renowned collection. The display pairs garments and accessories with masterpieces ranging from Byzantine art to medieval miniatures, Renaissance tapestries, and armor. The exhibition also highlights the influence of art institutions like the Louvre on designers, exploring the shared creative language between fashion and visual art.
Date: 24 January 2025 - 21 July 2025. Location: Musée du Louvre, Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France. Book now.
Paris Noir
Artistic Movements and Anticolonial Struggles, 1950–2000
Gerard Sekoto, « Self-portrait », 1947 - The Kilbourn Collection - © Estate of Gerard Sekoto/Adagp, Paris, 2025 - Photo © Jacopo Salvi.
#FLODown: The Centre Pompidou’s upcoming exhibition, Paris Noir (Black Paris), will explore the significant contributions of Black artists in France from the 1950s to 2000. Featuring works from 150 artists hailing from Africa, the Americas, and the Caribbean—many of which have not been previously displayed in France—the exhibition delves into the diverse artistic movements that flourished in cosmopolitan Paris during this period. It highlights a wide range of practices, from explorations of identity to the development of transcultural artistic languages, showcasing the pivotal role of artists of African descent in redefining modern and postmodern art. The exhibition will feature specially commissioned installations by contemporary artists Valérie John, Nathalie Leroy Fiévee, Jay Ramier, and Shuck One.
The exhibition will be on view from 19 March - 30 June 2025, and will be among the last displays before the Pompidou Centre undergoes a five-year renovation.
Date: 19 March – 30 June 2025. Location: The Centre Pompidou, Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris. Price: from 17 EUR. Concessions available. Book now.
David Hockney 25
David Hockney, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), 1972.Acrylic on canvas 213.36 x 304.8 cm (84 x 120 Inches) © David Hockney | Photo Credit: Art Gallery of New South Wales / Jenni Carter.
#FLODown: The Fondation Louis Vuitton is presenting David Hockney’s largest exhibition to date in Paris this April. The exhibition will showcase over 400 works spanning seven decades, featuring paintings, drawings, digital art, and immersive video installations, with a particular focus on the past 25 years. Highlights include iconic pieces such as A Bigger Splash and Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), as well as recent works inspired by William Blake and Edvard Munch. Hockney has been personally involved in curating the exhibition, providing visitors with an intimate insight into his evolving artistic journey.
Date: 9 April - 31 August 2025. Location: Fondation Louis Vuitton, 8 Av. du Mahatma Gandhi, 75116 Paris, France. Price: 0 EUR - 32 EUR. Book now.
Azzedine Alaïa / Thierry Mugler:
1980-1990 – Two Decades of Artistic Affinities
Azzedine Alaia - Thierry Mugler 2025 - by Sai - Stéphane Ait Ouarab 2025.
#FLODown: Azzedine Alaïa / Thierry Mugler: 1980-1990 – Two Decades of Artistic Affinities at the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa explores the creative synergy between two of fashion’s most influential designers. Curated by Olivier Saillard, it features over 200 pieces from Mugler’s collections, displayed alongside Alaïa’s own work, highlighting the deep mutual respect and artistic exchange that defined their collaboration. Their relationship began in 1979 when Mugler invited Alaïa to design tuxedos for his collection, evolving over a decade to merge Mugler’s dramatic showmanship with Alaïa’s meticulous craftsmanship. Despite their contrasting approaches—Mugler’s flair for theatricality and Alaïa’s intimate, perfectionist style—both celebrated sculptural, glamorous silhouettes inspired by the golden age of Hollywood. The exhibition celebrates their lasting impact on fashion, with their works echoing each other’s vision and shaping contemporary style.
Date: 3 February 2025 – 29 June 2025. Location: Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, 18 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris. Price: from 10 EUR. Book now.
Olga de Amaral
Exhibition view Olga de Amaral. Photo credit MTotoe.
#FLODown: The exhibition of Olga de Amaral at the Fondation Cartier, which opened to coincide with Art Basel Paris last year, will come to a close in March, offering one final chance to experience her groundbreaking works. This retrospective brings together nearly eighty pieces created between the 1960s and today, showcasing her iconic gold-leaf works alongside her early textile experiments and monumental pieces. The exhibition explores Amaral’s innovative use of materials such as linen, cotton, and gold leaf, blending Modernist principles, Latin American traditions, and pre-Columbian influences. It highlights her significant contribution to Fiber Art and her role in shaping the post-World War II abstract art movement.
Date: 12 October 2024 - 16 March 2025. Location: Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, 261 Bd Raspail, 75014 Paris, France. Price: from 11 EUR. Book now.
Corps et âmes
Micheal Armitage, Cave, 2021
#FLODown: Bourse de Commerce presents Corps et âmes, an exhibition bringing together around 100 works from the Pinault Collection that explores representations of the body in contemporary art. Featuring 40 artists, including Auguste Rodin, Duane Hanson, Marlene Dumas, and Arthur Jafa, the exhibition delves into the deep connections between body and soul through painting, sculpture, photography, video, and drawing. At its core, Jafa’s powerful video installation Love is the Message, the Message is Death sets the tone for a show that reflects the forces shaping human existence, from social struggles to moments of transcendence. Through metamorphosing forms and vital energies, Corps et âmes offers a dynamic reflection on art’s ability to channel both inner life and collective experience.
Date: 5 March - 25 August 2025. Location: Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection, 2 Rue de Viarmes, 75001 Paris. Price: from 15 EUR. Book now.
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