Outstanding art from the world’s premier galleries leads to buoyant sales to private collections and institutions worldwide

During the show, Art Basel announced that it will be partnering with UBS to commission a comprehensive new annual art market report. The new ‘Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report’ will be an objective and independent study authored by Dr. Clare McAndrew and her Dublin-based research and consulting firm Arts Economics. Covering the main macro-economic trends and delivering fundamental data on the art market as a whole, the first ‘Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report’ will be published in March 2017 to coincide with Art Basel's Hong Kong show. The announcement of this new report came alongside Art Basel's extension of its 22-year partnership with UBS, Art Basel's global Lead Partner.

Galleries exhibiting within all sectors of Art Basel were delighted to express their enthusiasm about this year’s show:

‘This has been a very successful fair for us, and we were impressed with the number of high quality international collectors who attended this year. We sold work by George Condo, Andreas Gursky, Jenny Holzer, Thomas Ruff, Cindy Sherman, Frank Stella and Rosemarie Trockel, placing works with prominent collections across Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States and Asia.’

Philomene Magers, Co-owner, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, London, Los Angeles

‘An extraordinary fair; where desperation was replaced by inspiration. Yes, we had many sales, more than 80% of the work we brought, but more importantly, these were sales we felt proud of...to passionate collectors, both old and new.’

Marc Glimcher, President, Pace, New York, London, Beijing, Hong Kong

‘The level of excellence at Art Basel never fails to be breathtaking. I feel the fair is constantly upgrading and improving, which seems impossible when it is already the world’s premier fair!’

Maureen Paley, Founder Director, Maureen Paley, London

‘Although we felt interest before the fair was as high as in previous years, we came to the fair this year with some mixed feelings. After the first few months of 2016, when the art market hadn’t lived its best moment, we were delighted to see such a strong interest in the works we brought to the fair. This year collectors made very quick decisions when it concerned important art works. Art Basel was, once again, a very successful fair for us.’

Thaddaeus Ropac, Founder & Director, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Paris

‘Art Basel is the most important moment in the art world calendar, a collectors in attendance this year once again proves this point. We always put a lot of effort into gathering our best work to bring to the fair, but this year in particular the quality of  the  work  on  show  and  the  collectors  present  has  been  outstanding.

Fernando Mignoni, Director, Galeria Elvira Gonzalez, Madrid

‘Art Basel 2016 has been the highest grossing fair in the history of the gallery with strong sales to museums and private individuals.’

Glenn Scott Wright, Co-Director, Victoria Miro, London

‘The audience here has not shied away from difficult work. This year we have seen a very diverse, international crowd, with many using Art Basel as their hub to then also see events taking place at the Tate and Manifesta.’

Ana Castella, Director, joségarcía ,mx, Mexico City

‘Art Basel has defied the markets and brought– nothingushuge success once a beats the indefatigable spirit of Art Basel!’

Iwan Wirth, President and co-Founder, Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, New York, Los Angeles, London, Somerset

‘Art Basel brings together a very informed gathering of collectors and curators. We met great European clients, many of whom were new to the gallery, plus some who have been following our program from afar. We have placed two series by Massinissa Selmani with a Swiss and an Asian collector — and have also met with many institutions from the United States. Everything we have heard about Art Basel is true.’

Selma Feriani, Director, Selma Feriani Gallery, Sidi Bou Said

‘Art Basel has once again proven to be the rallying point for great art and art collectors. Basel has always been a strong fair for us. On the first two days of the fair, we sold more than 14 works to clients from the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, France, Norway, Lebanon and Greece. It has been a very rewarding week for us in Basel.’

Fergus McCaffrey, Founder and Owner, Fergus McCaffrey, New York, Saint Barthelemy

‘As usual, the fair has continued to attract some of the most significant people from across the international art world to Switzerland. Initiatives such as Parcours were particularly strong this year and have helped connect the fair to the city more so than ever. We are pleased to report excellent sales at the fair from the outset of both the contemporary and modern works.’

Stefan von Bartha, Director, von Bartha, Basel, S-chanf

‘As it was our first year in the Galleries sector we didn't know what to expect, but it has been wonderful. Art Basel is unlike any other fair we have ever done. It is a real privilege to be able to present our artists on this stage.’

Joost Bosland, Director, Stevenson, Cape Town, Johannesburg

‘What a great week! We have encountered an incredible number of collectors and representatives from museums and institutions from all over the world. It has also been a pleasure to see the interest of other artists at the fair in Salvatore Scarpitta's work.’

Michele Casamonti, Director, Tornabuoni Art, Paris, Florence, Milan, Forte dei Marmi, Crans-Montana, London

‘We have had a tremendous response to our booth, which pairs key modernists from Korea and the West. As the de facto center of the global art world, Art Basel is the ideal place for our gallery's program.’

Tina Kim, Co-Owner, Kukje/Tina Kim, Seoul, New York

‘The fair has been great. We have received exceptional institutional attention for our presentation of historical works by Ger van Elk in the Feature sector, and we are already benefitting from this renewed international interest.’

Jorg Grimm, Owner, Grimm, Amsterdam

‘We sold works to museums – both in the United States and Europe – as well as to private collections. Robert Smithson is less well represented in Europe, so it has been of particular significance to us to sell these key pieces at Art Basel. The curatorial conversations have also been terrific, and as a result, there are now discussions about future European museum exhibitions. We have also had meaningful contact with curators and collectors around Omer Fast’s work, which is part of the Film sector.'

James Cohan, Founder, James Cohan Gallery, New York

'While Art Basel is firmly established as the place to connect with European collectors, it has now also become a key meeting point for the gallery and Asian collectors we originally met at Art Basel in Hong Kong. Once again, a successful year.’

Shireen Gandhy, Owner Director, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai

'The response has been incredible, as we have interacted with new collectors and built on our experience over the years to connect with more museums.’

Kerstin Erdmann, Gallery Director, OMR, Mexico

‘I am delighted that collectors at Art Basel have engaged with work that speaks to the importance of social change, particularly during this incredibly challenging time.’

Liza Essers, Owner, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, Johannesburg

Galleries

This year the Galleries sector was particularly strong, with 220 of the world’s leading established galleries presenting the highest quality of painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, photography, video and editioned works. Six galleries exhibited in the sector for the first time having previously shown in Statements or Feature: Applicat-Prazan (Paris), Borzo (Amsterdam), Karma International (Zurich, Beverly Hills), Jack Shainman Gallery (New York, Kinderhook), Stevenson (Cape Town, Johannesburg) and Barbara Wien (Berlin). Pace/MacGill Gallery (New York) exhibited for the first time at the Basel fair. Highlights included: Metro Pictures’ (New York) pairing of Cindy Sherman and Camille Henrot; a solo presentation of Pia Camil by OMR (Mexico City); a pairing of Kansuke Yamamoto and Hanako Murakami at Taka Ishii Gallery (Tokyo, Paris, New York); Robin Rhode’s one day in-situ memorial wall drawing honoring the 40th anniversary of the Soweto uprising in South Africa, on display at Stevenson (Cape Town, Johannesburg); a comprehensive study of the origins of expressionism at Galerie St. Etienne (New York); Salvatore Scarpitta’s solo presentation by Tornabuoni (Paris, Florence, Milan Forte dei Marmi, Crans-Montana, London); and an elegantly curated stand featuring a large-scale Wolfgang Tillmans work by Maureen Paley (London).

Statements

The solo presentations in Statements offered visitors and collectors the opportunity to discover quality work by emerging artists, brought to Art Basel by 18 of the most exciting young international galleries – seven of whom were exhibiting at the fair for their first time. The sector included work by artists from Algeria, Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Georgia, Germany, Peru, Poland, the United States and Venezuela. Highlights included: Sol Calero at Laura Bartlett Gallery (London); Lionel Maunz at Bureau (New York); Helen Johnson at Mary Mary (Glasgow); Jasper Spicero at Johan Berggren Gallery (Malmö); Ajay Kurian at 47 Canal (New York); Timur Si-Qin at Société (Berlin); Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme at Carroll / Fletcher (London); Ketuta Alexi-Meskhishvili at Micky Schubert (Berlin); and a presentation of work by Massinissa Selmani at Selma Feriani Gallery (Sidi Bou Said).

The Baloise Art Prize was awarded to Canadian artist Sara Cwynar, presented by Foxy Production (New York) and Mary Reid Kelley from the United States, exhibited by Arratia Beer (Berlin). The prize of CHF 30,000 was presented to the two artists by a jury of international experts, and works by the award winners were acquired by The Baloise Group and donated to the MMK, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main and the MUDAM, Luxembourg.

Feature

This year’s expanded Feature sector saw 32 galleries from 12 countries present precise curatorial projects. Highlights from the Feature sector, which encompassed both historical and contemporary work, included: a restaging of Jannis Kounellis’ seminal painting and performance piece with a violinist and an un-choreographed ballerina, presented by Luxembourg & Dayan (New York, London); a presentation by James Cohan Gallery (New York) of rare Pop works by Robert Smithson; Lynn Hershman Leeson’s groundbreaking ‘The Roberta Breitmore Series’ at Waldburger Wouters (Brussels); a presentation by Wentrup (Berlin) of Olaf Metzel’s immersive installation exploring the emotions of refugees; a selection of Kurt Schwitters works at Galerie Zlotowski (Paris); and a career survey of works on paper by Richard Diebenkorn, presented by Van Doren Waxter (New York).

Unlimited

Providing galleries with a unique platform to show works that transcend the traditional art fair stand, Unlimited, curated for the fifth consecutive year by Gianni Jetzer, saw a record number of 88 ambitious historical and contemporary works, with galleries reporting excellent sales. An annual highlight of Art Basel, many visitors commented on the strength of this year's presentation, featuring renowned international artists including Ai Weiwei, El Anatsui, Kader Attia, Hans Op de Beeck, Gretchen Bender, Pablo Bronstein, Elmgreen & Dragset, Tracey Emin, Isa Genzken, Dan Graham, Mike Kelley, William Kentridge, Joseph Kosuth, Louise Lawler, Sol LeWitt, Laura Lima, Paul McCarthy, Pamela Rosenkranz, Martha Rosler, Dieter Roth, Frank Stella and Samson Young.

Parcours

The Parcours program once again wove artistic interventions into the fabric of Basel. Curated for the first time by Samuel Leuenberger, Director and Curator of SALTS in Birsfelden, Switzerland, this year’s program presented artistic projects with a ‘human’ or ‘figurative’ stance across the Münsterplatz area of Basel. Parcours featured 19 site-specific artworks by internationally renowned and emerging artists including: Trisha Baga, Daniel Gustav Cramer, Andrew Dadson, Michael Dean, Jim Dine, Sam Durant, Alberto Garutti, Alfredo Jaar, Hans Josephsohn, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Eva Ko?átková, Allan McCollum, Iván Navarro, Virginia Overton, Tabor Robak, Tracey Rose, Bernar Venet, Michael Wang and Lawrence Weiner. Over the seven days, nearly 8,000 people attended Parcours.

On Parcours Night on Saturday, June 18, all project venues stayed open late with special one-off performances by: Eva Kot’átková at Basler Marionetten Theater; Mathilde Rosier, presented in collaboration with Institut Kunst, HGK FHNW at Scala Basel; Nástio Mosquito, presented in collaboration with Raw Material Company, Dakar, at Gymnasium am Münsterplatz; Tracey Rose at Münsterplatz; Anne Imhof, presented in collaboration with Kunsthalle Basel; and Pádraic E. Moore, presented in collaboration with Raw Material Company, Dakar, at Museum der Kulturen Basel.

With its inherently collaborative approach, Parcours flourished thanks to the support and engagement of the city of Basel, its institutions and inhabitants. This year saw the start of a new venture, Parcours Bar at Spira Popstore, a space where each night from Monday to Saturday six Basel based institutions – deuxpiece, Schwarzwaldallee, Deli Projects, SALTS, Ausstellungsraum Klingental and Oslo10 – presented their program.

Film

The Cairo-based film curator and lecturer Maxa Zoller selected Art Basel’s Film program for the second time. Consisting of 19 screenings, the films were shown at Stadtkino Basel over six nights. Highlights from this year’s program included: Pierre Bismuth’s ‘Where is Rocky ll?’; Fiona Tan’s feature-length fiction film debut ‘History’s Future’; and 'Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania' by Jonas Mekas. As part of the program, Marian Masone presented ‘Burden’, a documentary by Timothy Marrinan and Richard Dewey about the artist Chris Burden’s life and work. In partnership with Art Basel, the Festival del film Locarno presented the Swiss premiere of ‘Continuity’, Omer Fast’s most recent feature-length film. The short film program included works by Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Yuri Ancarani, Manon de Boer, Tim Davis, Edith Dekyndt, Simon Fujiwara, Beatrice Gibson, Sven Johne, Park Chan-kyong, Martha Rosler, Anri Sala, Cally Spooner and Superflex.

Conversations and Salon

Art Basel’s Conversations and Salon series once again brought together leading artists, gallerists, art historians, curators, museum directors, critics and collectors from across the global artworld. This year’s program included 27 talks and saw the launch of Hans Ulrich Obrist’s new series Artists’ Artists, where emerging artists were in conversation with artists that had inspired them. The program this year focused on key art historical moments and had a strong political overtone, with topics explored including the COBRA group, 100 years of Dada, museum’s responses to immigration, race and justice. Speakers included: Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Angel Abreu, Josh Baer, Davide Balula, Sam Durant, Róza El-Hassan, Alfredo Jaar, Alison Knowles, Jonas Mekas, Adrian Notz, Adrian Paci, Tracey Rose, Tobias Rehberger, Tim Rollins, Rayyane Tabet, Not Vital and Valentin Carron. This year’s premier artist talk saw AA Bronson in conversation with Alfredo Jaar, moderated by Mark Rappolt, Editor-in-Chief of ArtReview. The Art Basel talks program was free and open to the public. Almost 2,000 people attended Conversations and Salon this year. High-quality videos of all talks will be available shortly after the show at artbasel.com/basel/talks.

Zome Alloy

A new structure by Los Angeles-based artist Oscar Tuazon was installed on Messeplatz for the duration of this year’s Art Basel. An adaptation of Steve Baer's ‘Zome House’ (1972), Tuazon’s project hosted the second edition of Baer's 'Alloy Conference', first held in 1969.

In addition to the Alloy Conference, Zome Alloy accommodated projects such as ‘Green Light’, an artistic workshop conceived by Olafur Eliasson, and ‘A Kind of Jazz’, a participatory exhibition by the Masterstudio of the Institute of Integrative Design at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel.

Exhibitions and performances in Basel

During Art Basel, the city’s museums once again offered visitors many outstanding exhibitions, including: ‘Sculpture on the Move 1946–2016’ and ‘Barnett Newman — Drawings and Prints’ at The Kunstmuseum Basel; ‘Zita – ?apa Kammerstück von Katharina Fritsch und Alexej Koschkarow’ at Schaulager; ‘Alexander Calder and Fischli and Weiss’ at Fondation Beyeler; ‘Michael Landy: Out of Order’ at Museum Tinguely; ‘Anne Imhof: Angst’ and ‘Yngve Holen: VERTICALSEAT’ at Kunsthalle Basel and Alexander Girard at Vitra Design Museum.

This year, many Basel galleries opened their doors from 8 – 10pm on Thursday, June 19 in a new initiative called Open House, including: balzer projects, von Bartha, Galerie Carzaniga Basel, Graf & Schelble Galerie, Galerie HILT, Idea Fixa, Laleh June Galerie, Galerie Gisèle Linder, Mitart, Anne Mosseri-Marlio Galerie, John Schmid Galerie, Stampa, Daniel Blaise Thorens Fine Art Gallery, Tony Wuethrich Galerie and Kunsthalle Palazzo Liestal.

Theater Basel and Art Basel presented the Swiss premiere of Douglas Gordon’s ‘Bound to Hurt’, which was staged from June 16 – 18, 2016. ‘Bound to Hurt’ was a collaboration between Laura Berman, Opera Director at Theater Basel; the artist Douglas Gordon; the performer and soprano Ruth Rosenfeld; British composer Philip Venables and the German-Icelandic Ensemble Adapter.

Design Miami Basel

Design Miami Basel, the global forum for collectible design, once again took place in Hall 1 South on the Messeplatz. The 11th edition presented more than 40 galleries exhibiting historic and contemporary design alongside a program of commissions, talks and satellite shows. For more details, please visit designmiami.com