Art Paris 2026 at the Grand Palais confirms an increasingly evident trend in the contemporary art market: dominating are the iconic works, recognizable and signed by artists already fully established at an international level.
To perfectly embody this scenario is a monumental sculpture that has captured the attention of visitors and industry operators: the large teapot by Joana Vasconcelos.
The monumental teapot that tells the market at Art Paris 2026
The work, Five O’Clock (2015), appears as an oversized teapot made of wrought iron and enriched with vegetal elements, particularly jasmine. With imposing dimensions — over three meters in width — the sculpture fits into the distinctive poetics of Vasconcelos, who has been engaged for years in transforming domestic objects into spectacular and immersive installations.
The value attributed to the work, equal to about 400,000 euros, places it among the most significant works of the edition. But beyond the figure, what is striking is its symbolic role: a work that is immediately readable, strongly identity-driven, and perfectly in line with the international market demand.
Between decoration and monumentality: the language of Vasconcelos
The work of Joana Vasconcelos has always moved on a fine line between art and craftsmanship, between decorative aesthetics and monumental installation. Elements typically associated with the domestic world — such as a teapot — are amplified to become symbolic architectures.
In Five O’Clock, the reference to the tea ritual intertwines with an almost theatrical dimension: the presence of jasmine introduces an organic and sensory element that transforms the work into an experience as well as an object. This type of approach, which combines spectacle and accessibility, is among the most appreciated by collectors and institutions today.
Figurative painting and narrative tension
Next to the large installations, Art Paris 2026 also showcased a strong presence of contemporary figurative painting. Among the most interesting artists stands out Markus Åkesson, with works characterized by an intense narrative tension and a distinctive use of fabrics as a dominant visual element.
In works like Witch Riding Backwards (2022), the human figure is often concealed or enveloped by decorative patterns, creating a contrast between ornamental surface and psychological depth. This visual ambiguity represents one of the reasons for the artist’s success in the European market, where figurative painting continues to maintain a solid position.
Sculpture and ceramics: the return of matter
Another growing segment is that of ceramic sculpture, effectively represented by the work of Carolein Smit. Her works, such as Angel, combine a refined technique with a baroque and almost surreal aesthetic.
Ceramics, traditionally considered a “minor” medium, is experiencing a new centrality in the contemporary market, thanks also to artists who reinterpret its language in a conceptual and decorative key. The result is a production that manages to engage both with emerging collecting and with the more established one.
Between abstraction and historicization
The fiera has also confirmed the central role of historicized works and abstraction in balancing the offer.
Artists like Monique Frydman and Cristina Almodóvar represent two different but complementary approaches: on one side the pictorial research on color and surface, on the other a sculpture that dialogues with nature and space.
At the same time, the presence of figures like Victor Vasarely and Piotr Kowalski demonstrates how the market continues to value works with a solid historical foundation, capable of offering security to investors and cultural depth to collections.
A market increasingly oriented towards recognizability
Art Paris 2026 thus returns the image of a stratified but coherent market, in which different languages coexist — installation, painting, ceramics, abstraction — but united by a precise common thread: recognizability.
In this context, the monumental teapot by Joana Vasconcelos is not only a work of great visual impact, but it becomes a key to understanding the entire fair. A work that combines scale, identity, and visual accessibility, and that perfectly reflects the current dynamics of the international market.
While on one hand experimentation continues to exist, on the other hand, it is the works capable of communicating immediately — and being remembered — that truly drive the value.
As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
