Air de Paris, the Paris gallery known for its punk ethos and commitment to cutting-edge Conceptual art, will close this week after 36 years and more than 400 exhibitions, amid bankruptcy proceedings. Founded in Nice in 1990 by Florence Bonnefous and Edouard Merino, the gallery was named after Marcel Duchamp’s 50cc of Paris Air and became legendary for its inaugural show, “Les Ateliers du Paradise,” which featured artists living in the gallery and later influenced critic Nicolas Bourriaud’s theory of relational aesthetics. The gallery moved to Paris in 1994 and later to Romainville in 2019, showing artists such as Paul McCarthy, Raymond Pettibon, Liam Gillick, Pierre Huyghe, and Dorothy Iannone.
The closure matters because it signals the ongoing strain on mid-sized galleries in an increasingly corporatized art market. Bonnefous and Merino cited health issues and the commercialization of the art world as reasons for shutting down, having previously withdrawn from Art Basel in 2025 after their booth was moved to a less prominent location. The gallery’s exit marks the end of an influential space that championed experimental, often provocative work and helped launch major careers, while its founders’ critique of market pressures resonates with broader concerns about sustainability and independence in the contemporary art ecosystem.