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Lo Brutto Stahl, already a major gallery of the Paris scene
In barely three years’ existence, Paris- and Basel-based gallery Lo Brutto Stahl has proved its excellence with an astute, international offer, as well as unusual projects such as an exhibition in a private airport. Numéro art looks back over its co-founders’ trajectory.
Text by Guillaume Oranger ,
portraits by Clara Belleville.
Lo Brutto Stahl, a young gallery with high standards
Although the Lo Brutto Stahl gallery opened in March 2023, one immediately understands, when entering the long, uncompromising space at 21 rue des Vertus, that Vincent Lo Brutto and Pablo Stahl’s artistic journey began long before. Born in Mulhouse, in 1995 and 1997 respectively, the duo met in September 2015 during their first year at art school in their native city. While Vincent turned to sculpture, Pablo was busy experimenting at the intersection of photography and writing. Their long conversations crystallized a shared vision, based in the concept of the installation and the more general question of how to structure an exhibition.
Vincent Lo Brutto and Pablo Stahl: From art students to gallerists
They first mooted the idea of a gallery in spring 2019, amidst the effervescence of the pre-Brexit London scene, since Pablo, who was studying art law, regularly visited Vincent, who was living in the British capital at the time. The colliding force of their ambition imbued the idea with a sense of urgency: though the duo had organized joint exhibitions in the past, they now felt the need for a permanent space.
Thanks to COVID, and to the scope of the renovations required by the premises they found, the budding gallerists had plenty of time to refine their project. Although industry insiders recommended a nomadic approach with a purely digital presence, they were determined to establish themselves in the Marais district, alongside all the other major Parisian galleries.
A sharp, international program
In 2021, to refine their programme, they travelled to New York, London, Berlin, and Milan; by late 2022, the space was nearly ready, the list of artists complete, and the opening date set. With Inauguration, the initial exhibition, they hit the ground running, having carefully nurtured the element of surprise.
With its 28 pieces by 18 artists, the show appeared at once accomplished and seminal. Featuring four of the eight artists the gallery still represents, as well as many others with whom it continues to work, the exhibition combined a steely eye, audacious design, and long-term thinking.
Carlotta Amanzi, The house goes off (2023–24). Oil and metallic ceramic on canvas. 81 × 65 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Lo Brutto Stahl, Paris and Basel.
From a quiet street in the Marais to a private airport in Basel
The 18 shows since have not betrayed the initial promise, among them two held in the rather surprising context of Air Service Basel’s private plane hangar. Devised a few months after they began operating, the idea is strikingly effective: during Art Basel, the gallery puts on a group show at the Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport, thereby grabbing major collectors en route to the fair.
The success of the first edition led them to open a permanent space at the airport in late 2024. The second Art Basel show, in 2025, was even more of a triumph given that its predecessor had been considered by many a one-shot fluke. Swiss gallery Hauser & Wirth made no mistake when it chose Lo Brutto Stahl for the second edition of its collaborative format Hauser & Wirth Invite(s), which ran from 24 April to 24 May 2025 and featured work by the young Carlotta Amanzi, an Italian painter Lo Brutto Stahl represents. With their business flair and natural elegance, the duo’s future is decidedly bright.
View of the exhibition Air Service Basel 2025, Basel. From left to right: Michael Simpson, Bench Painting 73 (2009). Manon Wertenbroek, My boundaries end where the pleasure of others begins (2025). Manon Wertenbroek, The intimacy of “myself” with others (2025). Courtesy of the artist and Lo Brutto Stahl, Paris and Basel.
Simon Callery, Philip Seibel… Eclectic artists
Resisting overly narrow categories, the gallery’s programming adroitly evades the constraints of formal art history labels and geographical and temporal boundaries. The distance between Simon Callery’s geological paintings, Philip Seibel’s sepulchral air- conditioning systems, and ML Poznanski’s fibrous canvases – just three of the eight artists Lo Brutto Stahl represents – attests to this eclecticism.
Experts on the careers of Paul Durand-Ruel and Ambroise Vollard, the celebrated French dealers in whose wake they follow, the duo proffers warm, serious conversation punctuated by frank smiles in the sharp light of their Parisian space. Attentive to the cadence and opportunities of the market, not to mention the more subtle impressions of their clients, whom they welcome with exemplary hospitality, it is only natural that their audience is growing.
“Shelby Jackson”, from October 19th to November 22nd, Lo Brutto Stahl gallery, Paris 3rd.
“Philip Seibel. Bordun”, open until November 15th, Lo Brutto Stahl gallery, Basel.
