Under the iconic glass domes of Grand Palais in Paris, art enthusiasts gathered and roamed around the plentiful booths of the 2026 edition of Art Paris. At the yearly art fair, pieces of contemporary and modern art from around the world were shown at the 28th edition of the event, with a notable presence of voices from the Middle East and North Africa. The fair hosted 160 galleries from over 20 countries, including Saleh Barakat Gallery (Beirut) and Galerie Tanit (Beirut and Munich).
Delving into nature, personal relationships and the human body, here are six standout MENA artists at Art Paris 2026.
Azza Abo Rebieh
Through her delicate fabric pieces from the “Unlived” series, the Syrian artist Azza Abo Rebieh resists the erratic and violent state of the world with sensual imagery, using light shades of pink, yellow and purple. This series, which she has been working on for the past three years, partially stems from enduring detainment in a Syrian prison, where she felt lifeless and unmotivated. To make her pieces, Abo Rebieh used coloured tulle and ‘drew’ her black-lined figures, including swans and female bodies, with thread. @azza.abo.rebieh
Diana Ghandour
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For the second time at Art Paris, a section dedicated to contemporary design is part of the event’s programming. Among the present designers is Diana Ghandour from Lebanon, who is a first-time participant and has set up a vibrant yellow and white-striped space, inviting the audience in. As if entering an apartment, Ghandour is showcasing a variety of objects, including tables and floor lamps, made of plaster, stone and marble, where “forms appear grounded yet fluid.” @dianaghandour_studio
Khaled Takreti
Based in Paris, the Syrian artist Khaled Takreti compares his visual work to a personal diary, noting particular moments of his life pictorially. In this 2011 triptych, entitled “Love-Hate”, Takreti explores the theme of complex family dynamics against a light-brown neutral background. Affected by the strong matriarchal presence in his upbringing, the authoritarian central figure represents the artist’s mother and grandmother, who is surrounded by two young, sarcastic men (acting as self-portraits of Takreti) on both sides. A deeply personal topic for Takreti, the mother’s authoritarian nature has led him to have a ‘love-hate’ relationship with her, but nevertheless indicates her pure heart with the presence of a typewriter and a white piece of paper. “She is a woman with a message,” said the artist. @takreti
Mireille Kassar
Using pure pigments, charcoal and water, the Lebanese artist Mireille Kassar explores the vulnerable state of being in her gestural works on paper, entitled “Reveries of Gilgamesh”. “I am interested in how vulnerability can be stronger than what is labeled as strong. This speaks to me about our lives, our existence. I don’t see myself as a victim, but as a survivor,” said Kassar. The works, which almost resemble a landscape scene slowly forming, are almost like “dreams or reminiscences, working together like variations on a melody,” reads a wall text. @mireillekassar
Nabil Nahas
Representing Lebanon at the 2026 edition of the Venice Biennale is Beirut-born artist Nabil Nahas, who is having a number of his nature-inspired pieces on view. Although Nahas spent many years of his life and career in the US, his work shows a deep attachment to his roots in his native Lebanon, depicting its famed olive and cedar trees through bold colours and gestures. As seen in this untitled work from 2025, Nahas presents a textured, close-up composition of the cedar tree, using shades of goldish yellow and black, a beloved symbol of Lebanon, representing the notions of resilience and strength. @nabilrnahas
Zena Assi
Inspired by present-day issues and the contradictions of her native Lebanon, Zena Assi is a London-based artist, who is presenting at the fair a green-toned series, entitled “Still Life”. At the centre of the small square paintings is the presence of flowers and plants, featuring alongside them small natural and political motifs, such as pets, war toys, tanks and helicopters, “exploring the cultural and social changes and putting on record our urban contemporary environment’s imprint,” reads a text provided by Assi’s representative, Galerie Tanit. “These objects become small reminders that life is fleeting, and beauty exists in the in-between.” @zenaassi
