Basel artistic director Clément De Lépine leads Lafayette looking forward

The Paris exhibition space, which is closely watched, has announced that Paris art director Clément DeLépine will be the next director of the institution.

He succeeded Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, who has served as director for the past six years and has “opted to embark on new personal and professional challenges”, according to a press release.

DeLépine will start his role on November 17, a few weeks after this year’s edition of Art Basel Paris, the company will open VIPS on October 22. Art Basel said it is currently looking for a new director for the Paris Fair.

According to the press release, DeLépine will be responsible for drawing the “next phase” of Lafayette Expectations, the nonprofit foundation of iconic department store Galeries Lafayette. Since its inception in 2012, the organization has been known for its ambitious exhibition programs, focusing on a high-profile lineup of international artists. Recent shows are dedicated to Martine Syms, Issy Wood, Cyprien Gaillard, Martin Margiela and Wu Tsang. It now operates in the 19th-century industrial building in Le Marais, which opened in 2018 after renovations at Rem Koolhaas and Oma.

Lafayette is looking forward to the landscape of Guillaume Houzé, the great-grandson of one of the founders of Galeries Lafayette. The arrival of Clément De Lépine represents the new chapter of Lafayette’s expectations to support contemporary creation.”

DeLépine was appointed Director of Art Basel Paris in March 2022, and a few months later, Art Basel announced that it will hold the Grand Palace in October at FIAC’s long-term French Fair, which will be held in France. His appointment was the appointment when Art Basel announced the new fair known as “Paris+, Art Basel Pal” and since then abandoned the name.

“+” or plus means that his iterations in Hong Kong, Miami Beach and Basel, Switzerland will be more ambitious than others and conduct “a dynamic dialogue between culture and music, between film and music” through city-wide plans. Although many of Paris’ top institutions did indeed open the fair, these ambitions never completely escaped. (This may also be just due to its general time in mid-October.)

“I warmly congratulate Clement on his appointment as the expected director of Lafayette,” Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz said in response to Artnews. “His dynamic leadership and vision is the core of building the Art Basel on the international stage in just three years and we hope he can master everything he has in the next chapter. We are totally focused on Clement and the team working with the Paris edition of Star next month and continuing to serve our clients on this global basis.”

Prior to Paris Art Paris, DeLépine led Paris Internationale, an independent fair founded by a group of galleries in 2015, from 2016 to 2021. He previously served as a director at the Bortolami Gallery in New York and previously served as a director at the Swiss Institute in New York.

“I feel extremely lucky to join Lafayette’s expectations and take over Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, who has admired his vision for the past six years,” DeLépine said in a statement. “I have considered affection for this institution and I am honoured by the trust Guillaume Houzé has placed in me. I am looking forward to further affirming its unique positioning on the French and international art scene. It has been a privilege to direct Art Basel Paris and I would like to express my immense gratitude to Noah Horowitz, Vincenzo de Bellis and all the teams at Art Basel for their trust and support.”