Must-see art exhibitions in Paris this autumn 2024

With the UK August bank holiday approaching and Paris+ par Art Basel scheduled for 18 - 20 October 2024, now is the perfect time to explore Paris's vibrant art scene. Just a 2-hour and 20-minute train ride from King’s Cross St Pancras, Paris offers a wealth of exhibitions at its renowned museums and art institutions. From exhibitions featuring artists such as Ellsworth Kelly, Myriam Mihindou, Jackson Pollock, and Barbara Crane, here is a selection of must-see exhibitions in Paris, running from summer through to early 2025.

Bourse de Commerce

To Breathe — Constellation by Kimsooja. Bourse de Commerce. Photo by MTotoe.

#FLODown: Bourse de Commerce, originally a grain trading hub, has been the venue for the Pinault Collection since 2021. It is currently showcasing the exhibition Le monde comme il va (The World As It Goes), which explores contemporary art’s engagement with global issues from the 1980s to today. Key highlights include Kimsooja’s hugely popular mirror installation To Breathe — Constellation, which will be on display until 23 September 2024, Fischli & Weiss’s clay models, and pieces by Maurizio Cattelan, Cindy Sherman, and Anne Imhof. The exhibition reflects the complex relationship between art and societal challenges. On 9 October, a new exhibition, Arte Povera, will open, delving into the Arte Povera movement. It will trace the movement’s Italian origins and its international impact, featuring major works by prominent Italian artists such as Jannis Kounellis, Marisa Merz, Mario Merz, and Michelangelo Pistoletto.

Date: Le monde comme il va (The World As It Goes): Until 2 September 2024; Arte Povera: 9 October 2024 - 20 January 2025. Location: Bourse de Commerce, 2 Rue de Viarmes, 75001 Paris, France. Price: From 15 EUR. pinaultcollection.com.

Musée National Picasso-Paris

Musée Picasso-Paris. Photo by MTotoe.

#FLODown: Musée Picasso-Paris, located in the 17th-century Hôtel Salé, is home to one of the world’s most important collections of Picasso’s work. Founded in 1985, the museum boasts over 5,000 pieces, including paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and drawings that reflect Picasso’s extensive artistic achievements and creative evolution. The current exhibition, Picasso Iconophage, examines Picasso’s groundbreaking techniques, with a focus on his deconstruction and hybridisation methods. It features a diverse array of his paintings, sculptures, and drawings, highlighting recurring themes such as the hero, the Minotaur, and the voyeur. The exhibition also showcases Picasso’s engagement with both traditional and modern artistic influences.

In October, the Musée Picasso-Paris will host a significant retrospective of Jackson Pollock’s work, the first in France in over 15 years. This exhibition will focus on Pollock’s early works from 1934 to 1947, featuring paintings, prints, and sculptures, and will also include works by Pablo Picasso and other contemporaries. It will explore Pollock’s connections with American, Native American, and Mexican cultures, as well as European modernism, offering insight into the evolution of his abstract expressionist style.

Date: Picasso Iconophage: June 11 - September 15, 2024; Jackson Pollock Retrospective: October 15, 2024 - January 19, 2025. Location: Musée National Picasso-Paris, Hôtel Salé, 5 Rue de Thorigny, 75003 Paris, France. Price: from 16 EUR.museepicassoparis.fr.

Centre Pompidou

Centr e Pompidou. Paris, 2019. Photo by MTotoe.

#FLODown: Centre Pompidou, home to Europe’s largest modern and contemporary art collection, is currently featuring a wide array of exhibitions. The Centre is currently hosting Comics on Every Floor, a programme dedicated to the comic art genre, including Franco-Belgian comics, American comic books, and Asian manga. Key exhibitions include Comic Exhibition (1964 - 2024), which explores the history of comics, and Comics in the Museum, a thematic tour that highlights works from iconic comic artists like Hergé and Winsor McCay. Other exhibitions include Liliane et Michel Durand-Dessert: Un engagement radical (25 June – 31 September 2024) and Bang Hai Ja (25 June 2024 – 9 March 2025). Upcoming autumn exhibitions include a centenary celebration of Surrealism and a free exhibition of Barbara Crane’s photography,

Date: Comics on Every Floor: 29 May - 4 November 2024; Centenary Celebration of Surrealism: 4 September 2024 - 13 January 2025; Barbara Crane Photography: 11 September 2024 - 6 January 2025. Location: Centre Pompidou, Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris, France. Price: from 15 EUR. centrepompidou.fr.

Sculptures at Centre Pompidou

When visiting Centre Pompidou in Paris, don’t miss the sculpture garden at the entrance to the fourth-floor galleries. It features seven sculptures: six by the French artist Henri Laurens, known for his abstract nudes from the 1920s to the 1940s, and one by the British sculptor Henry Moore.

Sculpture Garden at Centre Pompidou, featuring works by  French artist Henri Laurens and British sculptor Henry Moore. Photo by MTotoe. 

Additionally, the museum is currently showcasing Takis's Signal series (1998), a set of metal totems inspired by railway signals that reflect Takis’s early artistic influences in Paris.

Fondation Louis Vuitton

Installation view of the "Matisse: The Red Studio" exhibition, gallery 5, level 1, exhibition presented from May 4 to September 9, 2024 at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris.

#FLODown: The Fondation Louis Vuitton, a French art museum and cultural centre designed by Frank Gehry and funded by LVMH, opened in 2014. It currently features two major exhibitions: Matisse: The Red Studio and Ellsworth Kelly: Shapes and Colors, 1949-2015. The Matisse exhibition, developed in collaboration with MoMA and the Statens Museum for Kunst, highlights Matisse’s 1911 painting and related works. The Kelly exhibition, organised with Glenstone Museum and the Ellsworth Kelly Studio, celebrates the artist’s centenary with over 100 pieces. Both exhibitions are open until 9 September 2024. The Fondation is also showcasing works related to sports in celebration of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In October, it will present Pop Forever: Tom Wesselmann & …, an exhibition dedicated to Pop Art. The exhibition, opening alongside Paris+ par Art Basel, will spotlight Tom Wesselmann’s work and include pieces by 35 other artists, exploring the evolution of Pop Art from its Dadaist roots to contemporary expressions.

Date: Matisse: The Red Studio and Ellsworth Kelly. Shapes and Colors, 1949-2015 until 9 September 2024; Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann & … from 16 October 2024 - 24 February 2025. Location: Fondation Louis Vuitton, Bois de Boulogne, 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, 75116 Paris, France. Price: from 16 EUR. fondationlouisvuitton.fr.

Palais de Tokyo 

Palias de Tokyo, Paris 2019. Photo by MTotoe.

#FLODown: Palais de Tokyo is currently closed for the summer but will reopen in October with a new exhibition titled Praesentia by Myriam Mihindou, coinciding with Paris+ par Art Basel. Known as Europe's largest centre for contemporary artistic creation, Palais de Tokyo will present this expansive showcase of Mihindou's work from the past twenty years, including new pieces. Praesentia explores the spiritual, therapeutic, social, and political dimensions of art through diverse gestures, forms, and materials. The exhibition aims to re-examine dominant narratives by highlighting previously overlooked or marginalised bodies, voices, and practices.

Date: 17 October 2024 - 5 January 2025. Location: Palais de Tokyo, 13, avenue du Président Wilson – 75 116 Paris, France. Price: from 12 EUR. palaisdetokyo.com.

Petit Palais

Petit Palais. Photo by Gilles detot. 

#FLODown: The Petit Palais, a historic art museum in Paris renowned for its exceptional collection of 19th and early 20th-century art, is currently hosting two exhibitions. The Body in Motion explores the artistic depiction of movement and physicality, examining how artists from various periods have captured the dynamism of the human form. Meanwhile, We Are Here: An Exploration of Street Art delves into the vibrant and evolving world of street art, showcasing a range of contemporary urban expressions. In October, aligning with Paris+ par Art Basel, the museum will unveil Bruno Liljefors: La Suède Sauvage, highlighting the evocative wildlife and landscape depictions by the Swedish artist. This will be followed by Ribera: Ténèbres et Lumière in November 2024, which will focus on the dramatic interplay of light and shadow in the works of the Spanish painter Jusepe de Ribera.

Date: The Body in Motion: through 17 November 2024; We Are Here: An Exploration of Street Art: through 17 November 2024; Bruno Liljefors: La Suède Sauvage: 1 October 2024 - 16 February 2025; Ribera: Ténèbres et Lumière: 5 November 2024 - 23 February 2025. Location: Petit Palais, Avenue Winston petitpalais.paris.fr.

Musée du Louvre

Louvre Museum. Paris, 2019. © MTotoe.

#FLODown: The Musée du Louvre, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious art museums, is currently showcasing a fantastic array of exhibitions. Olympism: Modern Invention, Ancient Legacy is on view until 16 September 2024, delving into the origins and evolution of the Olympic Games. Masterpieces of the Torlonia Collection, running through 11 November 2024, highlights significant ancient Roman sculptures. Meanwhile, The Met at the Louvre: Near Eastern Antiquities in Dialogue will be displayed until 28 September 2025, featuring Near Eastern artefacts in collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Upcoming exhibitions include Revoir Watteau and Figures du Fou: Entre Moyen Âge et Renaissance, both opening on 16 October 2024. Revoir Watteau will focus on the work of the 18th-century French painter, while Figures du Fou will explore the depiction of fools and jesters from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Date: Olympism: Modern Invention, Ancient Legacy: through 16 September 2024; Masterpieces of the Torlonia Collection: through 11 November 2024; ; Revoir Watteau: 16 October 2024 - 3 February 2025; Figures du Fou: Entre Moyen Âge et Renaissance: 16 October 2024 - 3 February 2025; The Met at the Louvre: Near Eastern Antiquities in Dialogue: through 28 September 2025. Location: Musée du Louvre, Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France. Price: from 10 - 22 EUR. louvre.fr.

Musée d’Orsay

Musée d’Orsay. Photo by Diane Picchiottino.

#FLODown: Musée d’Orsay, renowned for its exceptional collection of 19th and early 20th-century art, will present a series of intriguing exhibitions in the coming months. Harriet Backer: The Music of Colors (24 September 2024–12 January 2025) will highlight the Norwegian artist’s use of vibrant hues and light in her domestic scene paintings. Céline Laguarde: Photographer (24 September 2024–12 January 2025) will showcase the contemporary French photographer’s exploration of urban and rural landscapes. Following these, Caillebotte: Painting Men (8 October 2024–19 January 2025) will focus on Gustave Caillebotte’s portrayal of men in late 19th-century Parisian life. Lastly in 2025, Christian Krohg: The People of the North (24 March 2025–27 July 2025) will delve into the Norwegian artist’s depiction of Nordic society and culture.

Date: Harriet Backer: The Music of Colors: 24 September 2024 - 12 January 2025; Céline Laguarde: Photographer: 24 September 2024–12 January 2025; Caillebotte: Painting Men: 8 October 2024 – 19 January 2025; Christian Krohg: The People of the North: 24 March 2025–27 July 2025. Location: Musée d’Orsay, 1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75007 Paris, France. Price: from 13 EUR. musee-orsay.fr.

Musée de l’Orangerie

Monet's water lilies in the Musée de l'Orangerie.

#FLODown: The Musée de l’Orangerie, renowned for housing eight gigantic murals of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, will feature two notable exhibitions opening this autumn and extending into the next year. Heinz Berggruen: A Dealer and His Collection: Picasso-Klee-Matisse-Giacometti (16 October 2024–26 January 2025) will highlight the influential dealer’s collection, showcasing masterpieces by Picasso, Klee, Matisse, and Giacometti. Following this, Dans le Flou: Une Autre Vision de l’Art, de 1945 à Nos Jours (30 April 2025–18 August 2025) will explore the role of blur and abstraction in art from 1945 to the present day.

Date: Heinz Berggruen: A Dealer and His Collection: Picasso-Klee-Matisse-Giacometti: 16 October 2024 - 26 January 2025; Dans le Flou: Une Autre Vision de l’Art, de 1945 à Nos Jours: 30 April 2025 - 18 August 2025. Location: Musée de l’Orangerie, Jardin des Tuileries, 75001 Paris, France. Price: from 13 EUR. https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/whats-on/exhibitions

 Musée Rodin

 Musée Rodin. Photo Anastasiya Vragova.

#FLODown: The Musée Rodin, renowned for its vast collection of over 32,000 pieces by Auguste Rodin—including sculptures, drawings, antiques, and photographs—offers a comprehensive view of his artistic legacy. The permanent collection, displayed in the Hôtel Biron and its gardens, features iconic works such as The Kiss and The Thinker, as well as monuments to Balzac and Victor Hugo. In October 2024, the museum will present Corps In-visibles, an exhibition that delves into the representation of the body in art. This unique showcase begins with Rodin’s robe for his Balzac statue and includes sculptures, 19th-century fashion, and unpublished archive materials, inviting visitors to reflect on the portrayal, concealment, and expression of the body across various artistic contexts.

Date: 15 October 2024 - 2 March 2025. Location: Musée Rodin, 77 rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris, France. Price: from 14 EUR. musee-rodin.fr.