(Photo: Youtube Screenshot / Art Basel)
The 2024 edition of Art Basel's flagship fair concluded on Sunday after a vibrant week at the Messe. It attracted a record 91,000 visitors, up from 2023's attendance of 82,000. This year's event featured 285 exhibitors from 40 countries and regions, solidifying its status as a premier destination for contemporary art.
Diverse Exhibitions and New Additions
Alongside the main fair, the Unlimited sector returned, showcasing 70 large-scale projects, including installations, video projections, and paintings. The Parcours sector was also impressed with several site-specific installations scattered throughout the city, appearing in locations from empty storefronts to hotels. A notable new addition this year was the Art Basel Shop, a concept store offering a variety of design, fashion, and publishing products, which proved to be a bustling hub for attendees.
Positive Atmosphere and Strong Sales
This year's Art Basel began with a flurry of blockbuster sales at its VIP opening last Tuesday, setting a tone of cautious optimism. Despite the challenging art market, many dealers reported stronger sales. Philomene Magers and Monika Sprüth, co-owners of Sprüth Magers Gallery, highlighted the positive energy and solid sales: "Despite the recent challenging market environment, this edition of Art Basel managed to excite and energize collectors and brought solid sales for our artists from the first preview day."
Major Transactions and Blue-Chip Sales
David Zwirner Gallery emerged as a standout with the sale of Joan Mitchell's Sunflowers (1990-91) for $20 million, the highest reported transaction of the fair. Other significant sales from the gallery included:
- Gerhard Richter's Abstraktes Bild (Abstract Painting) (2016) for $6 million.
- Yayoi Kusama's Aspiring to Pumpkin's Love, the Love in My Heart (2023) for $5 million.
- Josef Albers's Study for Homage to the Square (1966) for $1.6 million and On the Other Side (1952) for $1.1 million.
- Robert Ryman's Untitled (1997) for $1.5 million.
- Scott Kahn's Wolf Moon (2023) for $900,000.
- Elizabeth Peyton's Yes! (Vampire) (2024) and Ang in London (Ang Tshering Lama) (2022-24) for $900,000 each.
- Liu Ye's El Aleph (2023) for $800,000.
Also Read: Top 5 Immersive Art Experiences in the World
Hauser & Wirth's Strong Performance
Hauser & Wirth made a significant impact, opening a new Basel space and reporting robust sales, with over ten works selling for seven figures on the VIP day alone. Co-founder Iwan Wirth commented on the market's resilience: "Despite the 'doom porn' currently circulating in the art press and along gossip grapevines, we are very confident in the art market's resilience, and the first day of Art Basel has confirmed our perspective." Top sales included:
- Arshile Gorky's Untitled (Gray Drawing (Pastoral) (1946-47) for $16 million.
- Georgia O'Keeffe's Sky with Moon (1966) for $13.5 million to a major private collection.
- Alexander Calder's Snowflake Tree (1960) for $12 million.
- Philip Guston's Orders (1978) for $10 million.
- Agnes Martin's Untitled #3 (2002) for $5 million.
Thaddaeus Ropac's Notable Sales
Thaddaeus Ropac gallery reported significant sales, led by Robert Rauschenberg's Market Altar / ROCI MEXICO (1985) for $3.85 million. Other notable sales included:
Several editions of Georg Baselitz's Dresdner Frauen - Die Elbe (1990/2023) for €2 million ($2.14 million) each, St. Anna vereinigt Feld (2010) for $1.8 million, Bei Willem (2009) for €1.2 million ($1.28 million), and Welten, die es nicht gab, mit Filzhut (2023) for €1 million ($1.07 million).
- Robert Longo's Untitled (After Rubens; The Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1610) (2024) for $800,000.
- Antony Gormley's HERE (2021) for £600,000 ($760,107).
- Sean Scully's Midday Blue (2024) for $450,000.
- Daniel Richter's share fitting (2024) for €420,000 ($449,902).
Art Basel 2024 showcased the resilience and vitality of the contemporary art market, with impressive sales and a record number of visitors. Despite the broader market challenges, the fair energized collectors and exhibitors alike, demonstrating this premier art event's enduring appeal and significance.
Related Article: Top 5 Must-See Exhibitions at Art Basel 2024
