FAB Fine Arts Paris has replaced the late Biennale des Antiquaires under the glass roof of the Grand Palais. After a first edition last year in November, the fair returned from 20 to 24 September 2025 with a hundred of international dealers, spanning most disciplines of the art market – medieval art, classical art, non-European arts, modern art, contemporary art, design, watches and jewelry. After a photo tour through the aisles of the show, here are five highlights that caught my eye.
A 1970s beach cabin like no other
The Coquine de plage—which can be translated as ‘beach minx’—is a polyester egg 2.40 meters high, made by a French company called Dorestyl G.E.A.D. Typical of the utopian architecture popular in the 1960s and the 1970s, these lightweight, mobile structures were used as ice cream stands, reception booths, or beach cabins. Galerie Marc Maison, located at the Puces de Saint-Ouen in northern Paris, exhibited one of these cabins from 1974, in a lovely turquoise color.
A signature bar of French Post-War Design
Mathieu Matégot (1910-2001) was a French-Hungarian designer who made a significant contribution to post-war design in France. He worked sheet metal by folding, shaping, and perforating it, creating a material he coined ‘Rigitulle’. Galerie Jousse Entreprise presented a bar made by Matégot in the mid-1950s, along with a pair of stools and a ‘Clé de Sol’ shelf. The booth also featured furniture by Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé, as well as lamps by Serge Mouille and André Borderie.
A mysterious and powerful Kongo figure with remarkable provenance
Nkisi Nkondi figures from the Kongo people, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are some of the most striking artworks from Sub-Saharan Africa. Magical and imbued with potent energy, these sculptures were traditionally used to protect, heal, or deliver justice. The one shown by the Galerie Didier Claes, from Belgium, has exceptional provenance, having once belonged to the renowned collectors Sydney and Bernice Clyman, Merton D. Simpson, Nancy and Richard Bloch, and the French artist Arman.
A fantastic armchair once owned by Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé
The gallery Bob and Cheska Vallois hosted one of the most interesting booth of the fair, showcasing some important Art Déco artworks (Pierre Chareau, Jean Dunand or Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann) belonging to private collections. Several pieces by the Irish designer Eileen Gray — see Villa E-1027 in my previous story — were exhibited, including the Le Destin screen (1914) and a Pirogue chaise longue (ca. 1922), both in lacquered wood. But the highlight was undoubtedly the Dragons armchair (ca. 1917–1919), which once belonged to Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé, and was sold for €22 million in 2009 by Christie’s.
An elegant, iconic Scandinavian Design piano
As a final highlight, the gallery Gokelaere & Robinson exhibited a rare and spectacular PH piano, made by the Danish designer Poul Henningsen in the 1930s, in collaboration with Danish piano maker Andreas Christensen. A few of these beautifully crafted instruments were produced, and some examples are held in renowned institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Danish Design Museum in Copenhagen.
Photos credits: @elegantinparis
Elégances Parisiennes 