Art Basel 2025

News

What does a so-called ‘buyer’s market’ look like at Art Basel?

Price reductions, negotiations and dealer “flexibility” are the order of the day

Koons lobster snapped up amid day two sales at Art Basel

Works by Michael Armitage, Adrian Ghenie and Frank Bowling were also among the highest-priced pieces sold

Art Basel and Frieze set their sights on the next generation of visitors

Young people enjoy free entry to Art Basel this week, while Frieze keeps charges low for the under-12s

Ahead of new fair in 2026, Qatar takes centre stage at Art Basel

The country’s cultural offensive also comes ahead of the opening of a clutch of museums

Cause for cheer at Art Basel as strong preview-day sales take many galleries by surprise

Dealers reported solid sales at the fair’s VIP preview, a good sign after a tough year in the art world

Basel's new satellite fair rides the wave of interest in contemporary African art

Africa Basel includes presentations by 18 galleries, including some non-commercial spaces

Holbein drawings go back on show at Kunstmuseum Basel after almost 20 years

Fragile, light-sensitive works have been given a dedicated gallery as part of institution's rehang

Sculptural works by emerging artists win Baloise Art Prize

Rhea Dillon and Joyce Joumaa's pieces feature in Art Basel's Statements section

Artist whose work addresses art world access is not in Basel—because his visa was denied

Richard Mudariki, the artist behind the ‘Art World Passport’, says his visa was rejected by the Swiss embassy in Pretoria, despite having two letters of invitation from Swiss organisations

With more than 40 galleries represented, Germany is a major player at Art Basel this year

With a German-born director and the Messeplatz project by the country’s Katharina Grosse, Switzerland’s northern neighbour is well represented at the fair

In tough times for dealers, Art Basel debuts a section for new works

Exhibiting art made in the past five years, Premiere makes it easier for small to mid-sized galleries to show at the fair

New dealer-run fair aims to fill gap left by Design Miami

Maze Design Basel is presenting works from 11 mostly French galleries, after Design Miami announced in February that it was dropping its Swiss edition this year

Limited-edition Labubu causes bedlam at Art Basel Shop

The figurine of a slightly sinister looking monster has been flying off the shelves

Liste and Volta, both stalwart Basel satellite fairs, celebrate major anniversaries

The two fairs mark a combined 50 years of showing contemporary art in the Swiss city

Art Basel gets go-going at Hauser & Wirth’s stand

Felix Gonzalez-Torres's 1991 silent-disco performance work is turning fairgoers' heads

Interviews

Francesco Bonami: ‘I like Basel as a city, everything is on a human scale’

The 2003 Venice Biennale curator has created an exclusive cartoon for The Art Newspaper

Julian Charrière: ‘The deep sea is a phantasmagorical space’

The French Swiss artist—whose practice focuses on the Arctic, the oceans and the history of the Earth—finds connections with the kinetic art of Jean Tinguely in his latest solo exhibition

‘To this day, I can’t get it out of my mind’: Tobias van Gils on missing out on Maurizio Cattelan's orchid

The founder of the Zurich-based investment firm MLT Capital recently launched an art foundation with his wife

Ser Serpas: ‘I’m hoping I can add a bit of what I think is a healthy dose of unease’

In addition to scouring Basel’s streets for debris for her signature assemblages of found objects, the American artist is exhibiting a series of new paintings in her show at the Kunsthalle

‘I’ve been in the art world long enough to trust my eye’: Suzanne Syz on how she collects

The jewellery designer, who was friends with Warhol and Basquiat in the 1980s, discusses her favourite Giacometti and the infamous Warhol work she missed out on

Jordan Wolfson: ‘An experienced artist doesn’t ask why they’re doing something’

The American artist, known for pushing the boundaries of technology, discusses his new VR installation at the Fondation Beyeler—a work he says he has been “trying to make since 2017”

Katharina Grosse: ‘Imagination doesn’t have a scale’

The artist discusses the trajectory of her practice and her vast, unmissable commission for Art Basel, which covers the entire Messeplatz

‘The works I add to my collection need to give me goosebumps’: Nicola Erni on the art she collects and why

The super-private Swiss collector tells us about the Warhol she got and the Basquiat-Warhol collaboration she missed out on, plus her favourite view in Basel

Exhibitions

Renewed Bern Kunsthalle works to reframe Switzerland's history

Director of the 107-year-old institution aims for a new perspective with a reopening exhibition showcasing the work of three Black artists

Beyond Surrealism: Basel show explores the many sides of Meret Oppenheim

The small exhibition at Hauser & Wirth nonetheless demonstrates the breadth of the artist's work

Vitra Design Museum celebrates the enduring influence of egalitarian religious sect, the Shakers

A multi-institution exhibition explores the Shaker community’s impact on contemporary art and design

Basel location provides a twist on Steve McQueen’s most abstract work to date

After it premiered at Dia Beacon in New York last year, ‘Bass’ takes on a completely different form at the Schaulager—but its essence remains the same

Basel native Irène Zurkinden makes a long-overdue return

A new show at Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger is the often overlooked artist's first since the 1980s

With a new exhibition, Fondation Beyeler celebrates the 60-year career of Vija Celmins

The retrospective features the Latvian-born artist’s meticulous depictions of the natural world alongside her lesser-known interior scenes and sculptures

Features

Tanks, castles and Hodlers: Swiss foundation tackles a fervent collector’s legacy

Led by Bruno Stefanini's daughter, the Foundation for Art, Culture and History has been cleaning and cataloguing the property magnate’s vast collection since he died in 2018

Location, location, location: behind the Art Basel floor plan beef

A longtime exhibitor has pulled out of the Swiss fair in a row over the location of its stand—so how are fair layouts decided?

In pictures

In pictures: the best of the Liste art fair in Basel

Now in its third decade, the satellite fair has stayed true to its mission of showcasing young artists from often overlooked regions

In pictures: Art Basel's Unlimited section offers visions of utopia

This year’s edition of the section, which is focused on large works, touches on the complexities of our past, present and future

In pictures: highlights from Art Basel's city-wide exhibition, Parcours

The exhibition's curator, Stefanie Hessler, picks out some of this year's must-see works

Diary

Art Basel Diary: star brings K-pop magic, scents and sensibility, and Liam Gallagher’s romantic side

Plus: Participative VR exhibition has big names queueing, and in Italy truffles come before art

Comment

Comment | I've researched the next generation of collectors—and here's why they are not like the last

The Art Newspaper’s editor-at-large on how millennials who collect art differ from previous generations—and what it means for the art market

In Basel, alternative art fairs spring up in new places

Basel Social Club has moved to the Old Town, while a gallery takes over a villa

In pictures: meet the newcomer galleries debuting at Art Basel

More than a dozen galleries are showing at Art Basel for the first time, all brimming with enthusiasm

So, after visiting Art Basel, you want to move to Switzerland—what next?

After a few days in peaceful, prosperous Basel, you might want to make your stay permanent. But becoming Swiss is no picnic

Art Basel exhibitors will show ‘the most ambitious works’ despite economic headwinds

Amid a drop in global sales and looming US tariffs, when Art Basel opens next week it will appeal to emerging collectors with a brand-new Premiere section for ultra-contemporary work, says the fair's director

Art Basel reveals a new section for fresh-to-market works

Premiere will be dedicated to art created within the past five years