Cosima von Bonin's Plush Menagerie Invades Petit Palais for Art Basel Paris 2026

Leather octopuses, mohair whales, a velvet St. Bernard, a bulldog, a pair of scallops and hermit crabs have taken up residence in the sculpture galleries of Paris' Petit Palais as part of Dollys & Beaux, an installation by Cologne-based artist Cosima von Bonin staged for Art Basel Paris 2026. Some of the oversized fabric creatures wear silk scarves; others carry tartan textiles made specifically for the Paris presentation. The works were first commissioned by LOEWE creative directors Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez for the house's Fall/Winter 2026 show, where in March the plush animals sat on oversized white shoeboxes beside a bright yellow catwalk at the Château de Vincennes, and von Bonin's imagery also appeared on garments and accessories. For the museum iteration the cast has been recostumed and placed among the Petit Palais' permanent collection of classical sculpture, producing what the artist frames as an encounter between soft, exaggerated bodies and figures carved to endure. Animals, especially marine creatures and dogs rendered in fabric with human attitudes, recur throughout von Bonin's practice, which draws on found objects and popular culture imagery and uses humor to probe social relationships and their conventions. Petzel, Gaga and Galerie Neu present the installation within Art Basel Paris' public program; admission is free and the run is October 20 to 25, 2026.