This October, Harry Nuriev returns to the global stage with Objets Trouvés — a large-scale participatory installation premiering at the Beaux-Arts de Paris as part of Art Basel Paris. Running from October 21st to 26th, 2025, the project is presented by Galerie Sultana in collaboration with Aurélie Julien Collectible, transforming the Chapelle des Petits-Augustins into a living experiment in circulation, exchange, and artistic transformation.
Transformism: reimagining the everyday
Known for his boundary-defying practice that merges art, design, and social commentary, Nuriev defines his creative philosophy as Transformism — the reinvention of existing materials to reveal new meanings. In Objets Trouvés, this concept becomes a collective gesture: visitors are invited to bring an object they no longer need and exchange it for another left behind by someone else.
Each contribution, no matter how humble, is certified as a work of art — blurring the line between creator and participant, value and disposability. Over the course of the week, the installation evolves organically, shaped by the flow of human interaction. At the end of the exhibition, every exchange will be documented in a Yellow Pages-style catalog, turning ephemeral acts into a lasting cultural archive.
Transformism in action: the art of letting go
The installation itself is minimalist yet deeply symbolic. Stacks of neatly arranged supermarket boxes fill the chapel’s nave, their rigid geometry contrasting with the unpredictable nature of human choice. Through these boxes Nuriev exposes the patterns of contemporary consumer culture: accumulation, desire, and release.
Two core ideas run through the project. The first is transformation as participation — a recognition that art is no longer a static object but a dynamic social ritual. The second is the act of letting go, which Nuriev interprets as a form of renewal rather than loss. In this sense, Objets Trouvés becomes a collective portrait of consumption, revealing both the absurdity and beauty of what we choose to keep, trade, or abandon.
Art Basel Paris and beyond
Presented within the Art Basel Paris Public Program, Objets Trouvés is the fourth project realized in partnership with the Beaux-Arts de Paris, reinforcing the institution’s commitment to fostering dialogue between art and the public sphere. Daily mediation sessions, led by students from the École du Louvre, will guide visitors through the conceptual and emotional layers of the work.
Don’t miss this evolving installation during Art Basel Paris — where every object tells a story, and every visitor becomes part of the work.
