The 5 exhibitions not to be missed in Paris in 2025

At the beginning of this year, Parisian galleries are outdoing themselves to offer us captivating exhibitions. Whether you are passionate about photography, street art or contemporary art, here is a selection of the must-see events not to be missed.

1) Peter Knapp at Oana Ivan Gallery 60 years of creativity

Located in the prestigious 8th arrondissement, Galerie Oana Ivan opens its doors with an exceptional retrospective of the iconic fashion photographer Peter Knapp.  
The exhibition «Countdown 1960-2024» traces six decades of creativity, innovation and audacity from the pages of ELLE magazine to collaborations with Yves Saint Laurent and Thierry Mugler.
Peter Knapp is more than just a photographer, he is a true visionary artist, one of the greatest masters of contemporary photography. He offers women whom he photographs a freedom.

📅 Date: January 17 to April 17, 2025

📍 Address: 93 Rue du Faubourg Saint – Honoré, 75008 Paris

🔗 Website : https://www.galleryoanaivan.com/fr/exposition/compte-a-rebours

View of the exhibition "Countdown. 1960-2024" by Peter Knapp at Oana Ivan Gallery, Paris, 2025

2) The Colorful Dreams at The Roaming Gallery:

To illuminate your grey days, head for the 13th arrondissement in Paris, where the Galerie Itinérance opens its doors to Seth, an emblematic figure of poetic street art.

With his exhibition «Escape Games» the artist invites us to dive into a dreamlike world populated by playful and dreamy children. Through his painted works and sculptures full of life, Seth offers an enchanted parenthesis in the face of the tumults of our time.

“Escape Games” is much more than an exhibition: it’s an invitation to escape, a symbolic escape from the sometimes dark realities of our time, marked by conflict and uncertainty.

It encourages us to dream, to be free and to reconnect with hope. This unique journey combines resilience, imagination and playfulness to offer a poetic escape.
Seth is a powerful reminder that art is a powerful way to overcome trials and dream together of a future full of hope and light.

📅 Date: November 29, 2024 to February 28, 2025

📍 Address: 24 Boulevard du Général d'Armée Jean Simon, 75013 Paris

🔗 Website : https://itinerrance.fr/expositions/seth-escape-games-29-11-2024/

Source: https://itinerrance.fr/expositions/seth-escape-games-29-11-2024/

3) Makef : The Mystic with a ballpoint pen at the Galerie Vallois:

For the first time in Paris, the Beninese artist Makef presents his exhibition «L'insomniaque», a series of hypnotic drawings made with ballpoint pen on school notebooks. Through his works, he fuses voodoo rites and modernity to explore the mysteries of the night, combining candor and social reflection.

Working mainly at night as a true insomniac, Makef offers us a vision of humanity that is both tender and critical and full of humor.
The artist takes a particular look at everyday life, navigating between tradition and modernity, while diving into the world of religion and the supernatural, strongly influenced by voodoo.

📅 Date: January 9 to February 1, 2025

📍 Address: 41 Rue de Seine, 75006 Paris

🔗 Website : https://www.galerierobertvallois.fr/modernecontemporain/actualites

Source: https://www.paris.fr/evenements/exposition-makef-l-insomniaque-78423

4) Sylvie Fleury: Glamour and Art at Thaddaeus Ropac:

The famous Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury reinvents the codes of consumerism with her exhibition «Sculpture Nails». This exhibition illustrates more than three decades of feminist and bold creation, mixing historical and unpublished works from his career. Varied sculptures transform luxury objects into critical comments on fetishism and consumerism, while an immersive space bathed in neon explores the link between conceptual art and commercial slogans.

You will discover stacks of magazines, luxurious objects and luminous works reflecting the tensions between excess and restriction. With a touch of feminist irony, these creations question the standards of beauty, luxury and social expectations. Mixing minimalism, popular culture and artistic references.
Sylvie Fleury offers a thought both captivating and critical on the consumer society.

📅 Date: January 11 to February 22, 2025

📍 Address: 7 Rue Debelleyme, 75003 Paris

🔗 Website : https://ropac.net/exhibitions/734-sylvie-fleury-sculpture-nails/

Source: https://www.emergentmag.com/exhibitions/sylvie-fleury-at-thaddeus-ropac

5) Tribute to Daniel Cordier at the Galerie Gallimard:

Galerie Galimard pays tribute to the life and work of Daniel Cordier, an emblematic figure of the Resistance, a visionary gallerist, historian and memorial artist, through an immersive and captivating retrospective exhibition. Organized on the occasion of the publication of Rétro-chaos, last volume of his memoirs, this exhibition highlights the major influence of Daniel Cordier on the art, culture and history of France.

The exhibition explores the many facets of Daniel Cordier’s life, his solitary childhood, his involvement in the Resistance alongside Jean Moulin, his artistic career, his passion as a collector and his role as a biographer.
Through archives, works of art and unpublished stories, she reveals a journey rich in experiences and reflections.
Blending personal memories and historical moments, this exhibition celebrates Daniel Cordier’s unique legacy at the crossroads of memory, art and history.

📅 Date: January 2025

📍 Address: 30 Rue de l'Université, 75007 Paris

🔗 Website : https://www.galeriegallimard.com/blogs/expositions/daniel-cordier-memoires-dune-vie

Source: https://actualitte.com/article/121199/expos/daniel-cordier-memoires-d-une-vie-a-la-galerie-gallimard