ART FAIRS: Art Basel 2025-Basel

The 2025 edition of Art Basel this June brings together 289  leading international galleries to present the highest quality artworks across all media – from painting and sculpture to photography and digital works – by artists ranging from early 20th-century Modern pioneers to cutting-edge contemporary practitioners. A strong line-up of galleries from across Europe will be joined by new and returning exhibitors from around the world, including Africa, Asia, North and South America, and the Middle East.

By Efi Miichalarou
Photo: Art Basel Archive

Art Basel returns to Messe Basel for its highly anticipated 2025 edition, bringing together 289 of the world’s foremost galleries from 42 countries and territories. The fair once again reaffirms its status as the leading platform for the global art market, presenting museum-quality exhibitions spanning painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video, digital media, and more. From pioneering Modernists to today’s most innovative contemporary voices, Art Basel 2025 offers a dynamic and diverse survey of global artistic production. Complementing the gallery presentations, the fair activates the city with a robust program of public art, performances, talks, and events in collaboration with Basel’s renowned cultural institutions. This year’s edition welcomes 20 new galleries from Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Among them, Arcadia Missa (London), François Ghebaly (Los Angeles, New York), and Prats Nogueras Blanchard (Madrid, Barcelona) make their debut directly in the main Galleries sector. Additionally, 14 new entrants join the Feature and Statements sectors, enriching the fair with bold curatorial voices and emerging talent. The 2025 edition also marks the launch of Premiere, a new sector dedicated to works produced within the last five years. Ten galleries participate in this inaugural edition, offering focused presentations by up to three artists each. Premiere introduces a compelling mix of voices, including Abbey Williams (Broadway, New York), Lonnie Holley (Edel Assanti, London), Junko Oki (Kosaku Kanechika, Tokyo), and others who explore urgent themes across media. A major highlight of this year’s fair is a large-scale, site-specific project by German artist Katharina Grosse, who has dramatically transformed the Messeplatz and surrounding structures with a vivid chromatic intervention. Curated by Natalia Grabowska, Curator at Large for Architecture and Site-Specific Projects at Serpentine (London), the installation greets visitors with a bold reimagining of public space and color, exemplifying Art Basel’s commitment to experiential, boundary-pushing art. Galleries, the fair’s main sector, features presentations from 238 leading galleries across five continents. The booths present works of exceptional quality in all media, from Modern masters to today’s most prominent contemporary artists. Seven galleries advance from Feature and Statements into the main sector, demonstrating their programmatic growth and curatorial strength. Feature includes 16 historically-focused projects by 17 galleries. Highlights include: Jessica Silverman (San Francisco) with Mother Earth, a solo exhibition of Judy Chicago. Galeria Raquel Arnaud (São Paulo) with iconic sculptures by Sergio Camargo. Anat Ebgi (Los Angeles) with a survey of 1970s works by Tina Girouard. Parker Gallery (Los Angeles) with early soft sculptures by Franklin Williams. Polka Galerie (Paris) with vintage works by Luigi Ghirri and Franco Fontana. Statements, focused on emerging international talent, presents 18 solo exhibitions. Highlights include: Nir Altman (Munich) with Ndayé Kouagou’s large-scale video installation. Gunia Nowik Gallery (Warsaw) with Sana Shahmuradova Tanska’s mixed-media works. Franz Kaka (Toronto) with Elif Saydam’s queer-themed painting and sculpture. Jahmek Contemporary (Luanda) with Felix Shumba’s powerful installation on colonial memory. The Baloise Art Prize will again be awarded to up to two artists in the Statements sector, each receiving CHF 30,000. The Baloise Group will also acquire selected works to donate to leading European institutions for solo exhibitions. Unlimited, curated by Giovanni Carmine (Director, Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen), returns with approximately 70 large-scale projects that transcend the traditional fair booth. This Basel-exclusive sector showcases ambitious works in installation, performance, and video, offering audiences monumental and immersive experiences. Parcours, curated for the first time by Stefanie Hessler, Director of the Swiss Institute (New York), will unfold along Clarastrasse and extend toward the Rhine. Titled “Second Nature”, the program brings together public artworks that explore the boundary between natural and artificial life, transforming urban space into an open-air gallery. Kabinett, now in its third edition, invites galleries to present curated installations within their main booths, offering thematic insight or focused solo shows. This year sees the launch of Premiere, spotlighting 10 galleries and projects that offer bold contemporary voices and experimental practices. Highlights include: Sweetwater (Berlin) with works by Alexandre Khondji, Kayode Ojo, and Megan Plunkett. Gypsum Gallery (Cairo) presenting new works by Dimitra Charamandas and Basim Magdy. Selma Feriani Gallery (Tunis/London) featuring North African artists exploring heritage and symbolism. Premiere broadens the scope of the fair and deepens Art Basel’s role as a platform for discovery and innovation. Art Basel’s influence extends far beyond the fairgrounds. Museums and cultural venues across Basel present exhibitions and events in conjunction with the fair, reinforcing the city’s global reputation as a cultural capital. From institutional collaborations to spontaneous happenings, Art Basel turns Basel into an immersive celebration of art and creativity.

Photo courtesy Art Basel

Info: Art Basel 2025, Messe Basel, Messeplatz 10, Basel, Switzerland, Duration: 18-22/6/2025, Days & Hours: Wed 1(8/6 Vernissage) 16:00-20:00, Thu-Sun (19-22/6) 11:00-19:00, Admission: Day Ticket: 69 CHF, Permanent Ticket: 250 CHF, Weekend Ticket: 120 CHF, Vernissage Ticket: 210 CHF, Evening Ticket: 40 CHF, Unlimited Night Ticket: 38 CHF, Art Basel & Liste Combination Ticket: 90 CHF, School Class Ticket: 30 CHF, More options here, www.artbasel.com/