A 2015 Olivier Mosset installation at VNH Gallery in Paris, the future home of David Zwirner.

PHILIPPE SERVENT

The space race at the upper echelon of the art market shows no sign of letting up. The latest move: David Zwirner will open a gallery in Paris in October. It’s Zwirner’s sixth gallery overall; the French capital will be the fourth city the enterprise has entered. The news comes a month after Gagosian said it would add a location in Basel, Switzerland, and Hauser & Wirth added one in Menorca, Spain.

Melanie Gerlis of the Financial Times had the scoop, and quotes Zwirner saying: “Brexit changes the game. After October, my London gallery will be a British gallery, not a European one.” (The British are scheduled to exit the European Union on October 31, whether or not they reach a comprehensive agreement on their departure with the EU.)

In Paris, Zwirner is taking over an 8,600-square-foot space in the Marais that the retired dealer Yvon Lambert called home for three decades, until 2015. Following Lambert’s departure, VNH Gallery moved in. VNH, which was co-founded by Hélène Nguyen-Ban and represents artists like Mircea Cantor, Candida Höfer, TJ Wilcox, and Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, is closing. VNH partner Victoire de Pourtalès will co-manage the new venture with Justine Durrett, a 12-year veteran of Zwirner who’s coming from New York.

Zwirner currently has branches in London, Hong Kong, and New York, where he has spaces on West 19th Street, West 20th, and East 69th. A five-story flagship gallery designed by Renzo Piano is also under construction on West 21st Street.

The opening of the Paris space will coincide with the FIAC art fair. First up in the space will be a show by veteran Zwirner artist Raymond Pettibon, who has not exhibited in Paris since 1995.

“In recent years, Paris has quickly become one of the most vibrant cities for the visual arts in Europe,” Zwirner said in a statement. “It’s a city where history meets the present, and we are endlessly excited to be able to occupy one of the most beautiful and legendary gallery spaces in Le Marais… We look forward to continuing the tradition of groundbreaking exhibitions at 108, rue Vieille du Temple, our new home in Paris.”