No place could be a more fitting start for the Artist Stories project than the heart of one of history’s most vibrant art centers. As our collections move from city to city, we want each to reflect the ideas that shaped the local art scene at the time.

Paris has long been known as a hub for fine art, but in the twenty-first century, a new urban culture has flourished in the French capital. At the forefront of international discussions on the climate crisis and regarded as one of Europe’s greenest cities, today’s Paris prioritizes sustainable development and social change.

Sustainable development requires us to think of cities in terms of balance and harmony. Paris has been a pioneer of this holistic approach, integrating sustainability into everyday life—from promoting biodiversity and building green infrastructure to fostering social cohesion and reshaping consumer habits. Over the past two decades, the city has prioritized initiatives that put the well-being of Parisians first. These values are woven throughout the creative practices of local artists, and the Paris Collection offers a glimpse into how they manifest in contemporary art.

The fifteen artists in the Paris Collection each explore these themes through their own unique sensibilities. Andrea Scippe embraces each new ecosystem she inhabits, using found materials to uncover the hidden histories embedded in discarded objects. Mathis Perron and Chloé Menous examine the tension between industrial planning and the presence—or absence—of plant life in urban environments, while Chavant Maëlys is inspired by the poetic resistance found in the ways living beings eventually reclaim these spaces. Clara Duflot is influenced by popular culture and mythology, which she uses to confront the wreckage of urban landscapes with humor and a fantastical lens. Marine Ducroux takes a similar approach, using her sculptures and audiovisual installations to explore tales that reveal how post-industrialism has left us with a loss of magic.

Joshua Merchan Rodriguez engages with history and capitalism, unraveling the "knots" of pivotal moments that have shaped our contemporary world. Micaela Yenobi also works with economic symbolism, exploring its emotional and ritualistic dimensions through installation, sound, and text. Manuel Aparicio Ugalde and Delphine Miquel both examine the porous boundaries between materiality and memory—Aparicio Ugalde through collective history and environmental imprints, and Miquel through sculptural forms that blur the line between the body and its surroundings. Servane Martin and Soraya Abdelhouaret highlight transformation and sustainability, repurposing industrial remnants and bio-sourced materials to challenge ideas of permanence and overconsumption. Meanwhile, Louise Covillas takes a more introspective approach, centering her practice on the act of collecting. Through moments of heightened awareness, she fosters a deeper appreciation for our surroundings and the living beings that inhabit them. Capucine Merle’s practice also involves collection, allowing her natural sensitivities to her guide her in creating artistic landscapes that balance fragility and resilience. Alexandra Willis employs a similar balance in her work, which often takes on ephemeral forms. Fascinated by the natural forces that govern our world, her practice deconstructs ideas of permanence and highlights the transient beauty of natural materials.

Together, their works offer a nuanced reflection on the evolving relationship between urban life, sustainability, and artistic practice in Paris today.