THE COMPARAISONS ART FAIR – ART CAPITAL 2026 – Grand Palais – Paris 8th – France

• February 12 to 15, 2026

• Opening reception on Thursday, February 12, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. – Access by invitation only.

Art Capital 2026 promises to be an even more ambitious and wonderful event. The fair will continue to present a rigorous selection of works by contemporary artists, offering an exceptional showcase for current artistic creation.

Art Capital “Les 20 ans” is pure artistic excitement with more than 3,000 artists, four iconic fairs brought together under the emblematic and iconic glass roof of the Grand Palais, and a single promise: to thrill you with the rhythm of contemporary creation in the heart of Paris and to introduce you to those who are shaping the art of today.

Rich cultural moments shared around works so incredibly showcased under the 13,500 m² nave, the largest glass roof in Europe.

For the eighth consecutive year, Florence Lemiegre is one of the artists invited by sculptor William Noblet, group leader of “Sculpture plurielle” at the Comparaisons d’ART CAPITAL 2026 exhibition in Paris. The artist will present “Noli me tangere Pistils Corocora” to the public. 

This sculpture, with its jagged and chiseled organic forms, is part of the artist’s ongoing artistic journey committed to the protection of nature and, more specifically, the fragility of our oceans. It explores the wounds at the heart of our planet’s flesh and symbolically denounces the decline in ocean health: sea and clay earth find correspondences and retain the imprints of the trauma and aggression they have suffered.

The earthenware artwork is glazed with a luminous white that subtly highlights the red earth of Normandy, left visible in certain areas of the pieces. Here we find the question of balance and imbalance in living things, which is inseparable from Florence Lemiegre‘s entire body of work. This question is intertwined with various explorations of the notions of vibration and breathing, where movement becomes a spark of life.

The world of “Noli me tangere Pistils” crystallizes sensory conversations and mysterious, elegant chatter from the depths of the sea. Like the song of the sirens, it seems to whisper a silent, indescribable melody that resonates in our ears. No doubt the one in which all marine ecosystems regain their biodiversity and nature finally reclaims its rights. Florence Lemiegre seeks to transcribe the emotion of an oceanic language. The double corollas of the “Noli me tangere Pistils Corocora” are adorned with small flowers and numerous pistils. Each pistil, as fine and light as a hair, moves with the slightest shift in the ambient air. This movement gives the sensation that tiny vibrations and oscillations are escaping from the depths of the piece. Like a silent, almost internal melody, they resemble imperceptible breaths: the earthenware or stoneware work seems to come to life.

Testifying to the fertility, but also the vulnerability, of our land and oceans, it ultimately offers to tell us a story. Undoubtedly one in which nature regains its rights and the balance of all its ecosystems.

THE COMPARAISONS ARTFAIR

The 2026 Comparaisons artfair features 37 groups representing as many sensibilities and trends in contemporary art, and visitors appreciate the opportunity to compare styles, approaches, and techniques. It is dedicated to presenting an original overview of contemporary art, as comprehensive as humanly possible, organized by group and managed by a group leader. The artists, selected and invited by the group leader, are mainly from France, from all regions, but also from other countries. Open to international participation, the exhibition also welcomes a number of foreign delegations, naturally grouped together to represent the state of creativity in their countries.

The 2026 Comparaisons artfair presents 35 groups, corresponding to as many sensibilities or trends in contemporary art.

President of the Comparaisons 2026 exhibition: painter Yvon Neuville.

Sculpture Plurielle Group:

“True creation is free from all dogma and necessarily multifaceted. It is worthy of interest when it is demanding, free, and unique. Beyond originality, the strength of a work lies in its uniqueness. Thus, Sculpture Plurielle brings together expressions that share a demanding approach, plastic qualities, originality, and independence. While abstraction is dominant, it is not established as an absolute dogma.”

William NOBLET, sculptor and leader of the Sculpture Plurielle group

A LITTLE HISTORY

After four years of exhibiting at the temporary Grand Palais, Art Capital’s return to the Grand Palais in 2025 was a memorable edition with an exceptional opening attended by more than 15,000 visitors, a record for the Grand Palais. And more than 50,000 art lovers, friends, and collectors came to talk with the artists, discover their sources of inspiration, understand their approach, or simply share a moment around their work, giving the visit a deeply human and authentic dimension. The people behind Art Capital are super passionate about supporting artists, and this approach helps them reinvent themselves every year and write art history within the iconic walls of the Grand Palais. The various art fairs certainly have their strengths, but they also have rare assets: who better than Art Capital can boast of forging a direct link

between artists and the public, encouraging them to produce and show their work and to have access to the art market without being subject to it?

Created in 2006 by the “Historiques du Grand Palais” art fairs and artists from diverse backgrounds who wanted to play on their differences and join forces to create a new, unifying event, Art Capital is now one of the largest art fairs in Europe, created by artists for artists. It has established itself on the French art scene as a major event and remains the largest gathering of artists in France.

Art Capital brings together four historic art shows under one banner: the Salon des Artistes Français (founded in 1880), the Salon des Indépendants (1884), the Salon Comparaisons (1954), and the Salon du Dessin et de la Peinture à l’Eau (1949 for drawing, with watercolors added in 1954). – brought together for 16 years in ART CAPITAL, they provide a platform for emerging and established artists to exhibit their work.

Art exhibitions have shaped the history of art and Paris: four entities with different histories, but based on the same principle: they are associations of artists who organize annual exhibitions of their members’ work.

THE COMPARAISONS ARTFAIR – ART CAPITAL 2026 – Nef du Grand Palais 
Opening on Thursday, February 12, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Exhibition open to the public Dates and times in 2026: February 13 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., February 14 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., February 15 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 2026 from 2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Grand Palais
3 Av. du Général Eisenhower
75 008 Paris

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