Shielded form the world’s Chaos?

As Art Basel in Basel opened on June 17, with its festive spirit, endless dinners, and an exceptional program of museum exhibitions held across the city, one might have thought for a moment that the art market was thriving in a euphoric bubble, shielded from the world’s chaos. But that’s far from the case. Just the weekend before, in Los Angeles, the Marian Goodman Gallery announced it would remain closed “due to the safety and concern of our staff.” This probably following the unusual presence of the National Guard at anti-Trump protests across the California metropolis. At the same time, on the other side of the globe, an Iranian artist whose work is being shown at Art Basel documented bombs flying over Tehran on Instagram. Meanwhile in Cairo, the Grand Egyptian Museum, whose opening had been planned for July 3, pushed it to the end of the year “due to recent regional developments.”

 Elisabeth Fiore

Elizabeth Fiore, an art consultant based in New York since 1996, admits that her clients can be deterred by the uncertainty of the global situation, but adds: “We don’t talk about these political issues with them.” Yet according to professionals across the Atlantic, many American collectors have clearly chosen not to travel to Basel this year, preferring to wait for Art Basel Paris in October.

 Allan Schwartzman

Allan Schwartzman, who advises major clients including Saudi Arabia and Brazil’s renowned sculpture park Inhotim, made the trip from New York to attend the fair. “The art market is tired,” he observes. “For years, we saw continuous growth in art acquisitions. But the collectors who made massive purchases are now reaching a saturation point, while new collectors aren’t as eager to buy. As for prices, the May auction results in New York sent a very clear message: Estimates are becoming more reasonable. Many works sold at the low end of their estimate ranges.”( See here the report about the May 2025 auctions).

Maike Cruse

Of course, the official line from Art Basel’s organizers remains optimistic. Maike Cruse, the fair’s director, responded to the question of an ongoing crisis with, “As always, our strategy is to present the highest-quality art.”

Resilience of market players

More concretely, the most striking takeaway from the opening of Art Basel was the resilience of market players. Even in this climate of acute uncertainty, 67 of the 289 galleries braved the current conditions to present monumental (and costly) installations in the Art Unlimited section dedicated to oversized works. While the market is downbeat and rather slow, it’s far from lifeless—and some were quickly rewarded.

Arman

Arman

Such was the case with the gallery of Georges-Philippe and Nathalie Vallois, which brought a 5.8-meter-tall copper and steel sculpture by French artist Arman (1928-2005) titled “Captain Nemo.” They sold it on the first day for between $1 and $2 million to a European.

“Arman was obsessed with Jules Verne’s stories,” explains his widow Corice Canton Arman. “The work was kept in front of his studio in Vence.” This unique metallic giant, assembled from salvaged stills from the Fragonard perfume factory, was conceived in a retro-futurist spirit.

Mimmo Paladino

Mimmo Paladino

Cardi Gallery, based in London and Milan and specializing in the Italian avant-garde, brought “The Witnesses,” a 2009 installation by Mimmo Paladino (born in 1948) composed of 20 lava stone figures, each weighing 300 kg. The artist, one of the key figures of the 1980s Transavanguardia movement, described these archaic-looking guardian figures as “present but without gaze.” He traveled to Basel to see his work shown outside Italy for the first time. Priced at €2 million, the piece was reserved on opening day.

Daniel Buren

Daniel Buren

Nearby, one could cross paths with one of France’s most famous contemporary artists, Daniel Buren (born in 1938). The artist “reactivated,” as he put it, a 1985 work made of fabric in his signature bicolored stripes, for the Continua Gallery. Arranged in a 12-meter-long miniature theater, the piece’s only movement comes from the wind (priced at €600,000). ( See here the last report about Daniel Buren).

Felix González-Torres

In general, Basel galleries continue to offer art at very high prices. At Art Unlimited, the most expensive piece may be a $16 million performance by legendary American conceptual artist Felix González-Torres (1957-1996), presented by multinational gallery Hauser & Wirth. A unique piece titled “Untitled (Go-Go Dancing Platform)” (1991), the work consists of a live go-go dancer in metallic shorts, dancing solo with headphones amid the crowd twice a day. A powerful declaration of gay pride, it has been shown in many museums. If sold, it will surely set a record for performance art.

Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford

Today, the market runs at two speeds. On the one hand, major galleries still command high prices, unlike the more cautious results seen at auction. For example, a 2025 painting by the brilliant American artist Mark Bradford (born in 1961)—who invented a painterly technique using polychrome paper—sold for $3.5 million at Hauser & Wirth( See here a report about Mark Bradford). We could also cite figurative painter Jonas Wood (born in 1977), known for his colorful compositions, who sold a piece at Gagosian for $2.5 million.

On the other hand, as Allan Schwartzman points out, “Mid-sized and small galleries are really eager to close deals. So they’re offering significant discounts.”

Maurizio Cattelan

Maurizio Cattelan

One of the fair’s highlights was at Gagosian’s booth: a sculpture of a kneeling child with a paper bag over its head, “No” (2021) by artist Maurizio Cattelan, the Italian trickster of the contemporary scene, was priced at €2.3 million. In the pas he made a similar sculpture shown from the back. Seen from the front, the child’s head was that of Hitler. Cattelan is the one behind the infamous banana duct-taped to a wall, which fetched $6.2 million in 2024. The Centre Pompidou-Metz is currently presenting an excellent exhibition of his work, on view through February 2, 2027, which is in dialogue with its permanent collections( See here the show about the report at Centre Pompidou Metz).

“September” by Gerhard Richter

Gerhard Richter

But the best isn’t always about million-dollar deals. One of the most fascinating works at the 2025 edition of Art Basel is by Gerhard Richter (born in 1932). In 2005, the great German artist painted “September,” now in the MoMA collection, depicting the plane crashing into the World Trade Center on 9/11. Finding the image unbearable, the artist obscured the plane with a sweeping brushstroke. In 2009, he produced 40 digital prints from the painting, each encased between glass panels. One of them is for sale at the booth of California dealer Anthony Meier for $125,000. (See here a report dedicated to Gehrard Richter)

Clearing gallery

To counter the prevailing gloom, some galleries are doubling down on creativity. Clearing, a gallery with spaces in New York and Los Angeles founded by Frenchman Olivier Babin, transformed an entire house in downtown Basel into an exhibition venue. “Art Basel was founded in 1969. The art market isn’t as vibrant as it once was,” he explains.

Jean Nipon

He is showing 44 mostly young artists, among whom the French Jean Nipon (born in 1977), who created a striking colored-pencil portrait of a woman in extreme close-up which sold on opening day for €40,000.

Katharina Grosse

One cannot miss, just outside the fair, a mural of sweeping spray-painted gestures by Katharina Grosse (born in 1961). Commissioned by the organizers, she painted the entire plaza—ground, walls, fountains—in bold abstract flourishes in shades of white and magenta. “At the fair, everything is about transactions. But this painting—you can’t sell it, you can’t buy it, you can’t own it. It’s ephemeral. It will last only seven days,” the artist concludes.( See here an other interview of Katharina Grosse) A beautiful alternative to transcend the crisis.