The Galerie municipale Jean-Collet in Vitry-sur-Seine is hosting the selected works for the November International Painting Prize 2026 until December 13. The exhibition features twenty pieces employing diverse techniques, reflecting the variety of emerging pictorial practices and the current state of the world.
Among the exhibited artists, the two laureates, Andrea Scippe and Jules Carlito Beurrier-Loncan, champion unique practices centered on the desire to care for objects and the world. Their works imaginatively challenge the boundaries of their discipline.
Since its inception in 1969, the November à Vitry Prize has chronicled the transformations in contemporary painting. On the evening of September 26, a traditional double vernissage was held at the gallery. The ground floor displayed the twenty works chosen by the 2026 jury from 500 applications, while the upper floor featured a dialogue between the previous year's laureates, Bohyeon Hwang and Sosthène Baran, curated by exhibition commissioner Alexandra Goullier Lhomme.
Following an address by Fatmata Konaté, Deputy Mayor for Culture, affirming the City's commitment, the laureates were announced: French artist Andrea Scippe (born 1998) and Franco-Guadeloupian artist Jules Carlito Beurrier-Loncan (born 2003). These young visual artists are among the twenty selected whose pieces powerfully question the boundaries of their field.
The works of Bohyeon Hwang and Sosthène Baran, who served as jurors for the 2026 edition alongside three invited artists (Marine Zonca, Joan Ayrton, and Lassana Sarre), show a shift towards hybrid forms, bordering on installation. The current laureates have also moved from conventional painting to explore these avenues.
Jules Carlito Beurrier-Loncan's piece Tress Koleee, made from a charred suitcase and a retouched photograph of a man getting a haircut, evokes themes of travel and migration. 'I collected these two objects because I was struck by their symbolic power,' the artist explains.
Andrea Scippe's work Emballé 2, constructed from PVC, kraft paper, and recycled materials, marks a recent turn towards reuse. 'Reuse has become central as a way of caring for things, extending their life,' says the artist, who is also pleased to be recognized by a public institution.
Jury members Marine Zonca and Joan Ayrton praised the Prize's ethical approach, particularly its rare anonymous application system. They described the selected works as 'the expression of a generation that is as inventive as it is anxious,' where artists 'want to grapple with their time.'
