Marking 55 years of Art Basel, the fair concludes on a high note with strong sales across all segments, cementing its position as the premier event of the global art market
Art Basel’s highly anticipated 2025 edition featured 289 leading international galleries from 42 countries and territories, once again serving as a hub for discovery and connection, and a driving force within the international art world.
The fair attracted an overall attendance of 88.000 throughout its preview and public days.
Maike Cruse, Director, Art Basel in Basel said:
“This year’s edition of Art Basel has demonstrated the enduring strength, resilience, and international reach of the global art market. We were delighted to welcome collectors, curators, and art lovers from around the world, and to see such strong presentations across all sectors of the fair. The energy in the halls and throughout the city was a powerful reminder of the role Basel plays as a cultural meeting point and catalyst for artistic exchange.”
Prominent private collectors and art patrons from over?96?countries and territories?across?Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa were in attendance, including?Switzerland, Germany, the USA, the UK, France, Italy, Belgium,?China,?the Netherlands, and?Spain. We were also?pleased to welcome private collectors and art patrons from a diverse range of other countries, including?Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Chile, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda and Uzbekistan.
Representatives from over 250 world-class museums and foundations visited the show, underscoring Art Basel in Basel’s role in connecting the global art community, including:? A4 Arts Foundation (South Africa), Art Gallery of Ontario (Canada), Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea (Italy), Centre Pompidou (France), Collection Pinault (France), Denver Art Museum (USA), Fondation Louis Vuitton (France), Galleria Borghese (Italy), Groeningemuseum (Belgium), Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (UAE), Guggenheim Museum (USA), Istanbul Museum of Modern Art (Turkey), Kunsthaus Zürich (Switzerland), LACMA – Los Angeles County Museum of Art (USA), Leeum – Samsung Museum of Art (South Korea), Leopold Museum (Austria), Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Denmark), Madre · museo d’arte contemporanea Donnaregina (Italy), MALBA – Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Argentina), MAMCO – Musée d’art moderne et contemporain (Switzerland), M+ Museum (Hong Kong), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA), MoMA and MoMA PS1 (USA), Museo Jumex (Mexico), Museum Rietberg (Switzerland), National Gallery Singapore, Neue Nationalgalerie (Germany), New Museum (USA), Norval Foundation (South Africa), Palais de Tokyo (France), Palazzo Strozzi (Italy), Rijksmuseum (Netherlands), Serpentine Galleries (UK), SFMOMA – San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (USA), Städel Museum (Germany), Staatsgalerie Stuttgart (Germany), Tate (UK), Tel Aviv Museum of Art (Israel), The National Gallery (UK), Watari-um – The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art (Japan), Whitney Museum of American Art (USA), Yuz Museum (China), and Zeitz MOCAA – Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (South Africa).
Exhibitors reported?strong sales across all market segments and show sectors, with standout placements including David Hockney’s?Mid November Tunnel, Ruth Asawa’s hanging sculpture, Gerhard Richter, Keith Haring, and Mark Bradford. Works by leading female artists also saw major success, including Cecilia Vicuña, Loie Hollowell, and Alina Szapocznikow, with strong institutional acquisitions and momentum for first-time exhibitors.
As one of the highlights of the fair, renowned German artist Katharina Grosse painted across the architecture and surfaces of the Messeplatz, transforming it into a vibrant, immersive environment. CHOIR (2025) is Katharina Grosse’s largest work to date in an urban center, covering more than 5000 square meters, while Grosse employs magenta because it’s the most visible color to a human eye in outdoor settings. Curated by Natalia Grabowska, this striking site-specific painting redefined the experience of public space through bold chromatic expression.
Unlimited, Art Basel’s unique platform for large-scale installations and performances, returned with a compelling selection of nearly 70 works curated for the fifth consecutive year by Giovanni Carmine, Director of the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen. Highlights included Andrea Büttner’s monumental?Shame Punishments?series; Atelier Van Lieshout’s epic?The Voyage – A March to Utopia; Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ evocative?Untitled (Go-Go Dancing Platform); Marinella Senatore’s inspiring?We Rise by Lifting Others; the haunting premiere of?Sham3dan (Candelabra)?by the Cairo-based dance collective nasa4nasa; and Thomas Schütte’s striking?Engel. The sector was further celebrated during?Unlimited Night?on Thursday, June 19, featuring extended hours.
Curated for the second year by Stefanie Hessler, Director of the Swiss Institute in New York, Art Basel’s public sector?Parcours?returned to Basel’s Clarastrasse with the theme?Second Nature. Featuring newly commissioned, site-specific works, the sector explored the tension between nature and artifice through immersive, multi-sensory experiences. Highlights included Hylozoic/Desires’ monumental 80-meter textile installation at Münsterplatz, Selma Selman’s scent-and-sound-infused car hood memorial in St. Clara Church, and striking works by Sturtevant, Marianna Simnett, Shahryar Nashat, Thomas Bayrle, and Yu Ji—each engaging deeply with urban space and the human condition.
This year marked the debut of Art Basel Awards in Basel, honoring 36 Medalists during an official ceremony at Rathaus Basel and the inaugural Medalist Reception at Kunstmuseum Basel, both held on June 19. At the Reception, Art Basel Awards announced the Koyo Kouoh Fellowship in collaboration with RAW Material Company, which will support one art professional from Africa, every year for three years, with a fully funded professional development program at Art Basel in Basel. The following day, June 20, the first Art Basel Awards Summit took place in Hall 1.0 of Art Basel, supported by the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Free and open to the public, the flagship summit featured keynotes and panel discussions with Medalists, Jurors, and prominent voices from across the cultural sector — including artists, cross-disciplinary practitioners, curators, museum and foundation leaders, and patrons. Art Basel Awards is presented in partnership with BOSS.
The Art Basel Shop offered a vibrant new chapter in 2025, headlined by Guest Artist?Katharina Grosse, who presented an exclusive capsule collection of limited-edition hand-painted and printed soccer balls, transparent bags, and signature tape. This year’s offerings featured sought-after collaborations, including the limited-edition Labubu by Kasing Lung, an exclusive FC Basel collector’s jersey and scarf, a raincoat by Thomas Bayrle, and a collectible poster by Sasha Stiles, alongside preview prints by Daniel Arsham and Amoako Boafo available only at the fair. Two new playful takes on the Art Basel logo typeface appeared across totes, apparel, and accessories, while special in-store activations provided rare opportunities to meet leading artists for book-signings and other meet & greets in celebration of the Art Basel community’s creativity.
World-class exhibitions across Basel complemented the fair, offering an extraordinary range of museum-quality shows and immersive experiences. Highlights included major presentations at the Fondation Beyeler (Vija Celmins, Presentation of the Collection and Jordan Wolfson), Kunstmuseum Basel (Medardo Rosso and Verso), and Kunsthalle Basel (solo shows by Dala Nasser, Ser Serpas, and Marie Matusz). Additional standout exhibitions were on view at Kunsthaus Baselland, Museum Tinguely, Schaulager—featuring a new site-specific work by Steve McQueen—and the Vitra Design Museum and Schaudepot. The city’s cultural program was further enriched by Liste Art Fair Basel, marking its 30th anniversary, the Swiss Art Awards exhibition, and the fourth edition of Basel Social Club, transforming a former private bank into a multi-room artistic universe.
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