Just this summer, we had taken stock of a slowing art market—held back by inflation, geopolitical tensions, and shifting spending priorities. And yet, judging by this year’s sales reports, the 2025 edition of Art Basel has proven that narrative wrong. In uncertain times like these, nothing could be taken for granted—yet the fair of all fairs recorded staggering sales from the very first hours. With 289 galleries from 42 countries and over 88,000 visitors, the Swiss edition of the global art fair giant reaffirmed its central role on the international stage, delivering results that suggest a renewed confidence in art as a safe haven—at least for those who can still afford it.
$17 Million for a Hockney: inside the biggest sales at Art Basel 2025
Amid private deals and lightning-fast negotiations, Art Basel 2025 confirms its role as a barometer of the contemporary art market: a Hockney sold for $17 million is just the tip of the iceberg at a fair where collectors spared no expense.
Katharina Grosse, CHOIR, 2025
Messeplatz project, Art Basel 2025
Courtesy of the artist (c) VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
Courtesy of Art Basel
Katharina Grosse, CHOIR, 2025
Messeplatz project, Art Basel 2025
Courtesy of the artist (c) VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
Courtesy of Art Basel
Katharina Grosse, CHOIR, 2025
Messeplatz project, Art Basel 2025
Courtesy of the artist (c) VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
Courtesy of Art Basel
Katharina Grosse, CHOIR, 2025
Messeplatz project, Art Basel 2025
Courtesy of the artist (c) VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
Courtesy of Art Basel
Courtesy Art Basel
Courtesy Art Basel
Galerie Krinzinger, OMR, in collaboration with: Galerie Jousse Entreprise, Galerie Ron Mandos Courtesy of Art Basel
Annely Juda Fine Art Courtesy of Art Basel
Courtesy of Art Basel
Courtesy of Art Basel
Courtesy of Art Basel
Courtesy of Art Basel
Courtesy Art Basel
Courtesy Art Basel 2025
Libo Wei
Courtesy Art Basel
Courtesy Art Basel
Courtesy Art Basel
View Article details
- Giorgia Aprosio
- 28 June 2025
Among the many works sold, at least five stood out for their economic value and symbolic weight, helping to shape the narrative of this year’s edition.
Optimism was reignited on day one, when a two-panel painting by David Hockney, Mid November Tunnel (2006), sold for between $13 and $17 million through London’s Annely Juda Fine Art. It was a major deal that set the tone for the week: blue-chip names still hold strong, and when the quality is high, collectors don’t hesitate.
From Ruth Asawa’s delicate hanging sculpture—sold by David Zwirner for $9.5 million—to a Gerhard Richter painting at $6.8 million, the sales pace made it clear that blue-chip works remain the market’s anchor. Two recent pieces by Dana Schutz went for $1.2 million and $850,000 respectively, while a diptych by On Kawara sold for $1.3 million.
The same goes for Hauser & Wirth, which reported two works by Mark Bradford sold at $3.5 million each—one acquired by a prominent American collection. The strong momentum also drew attention to other artists on view, including Fausto Melotti, Piero Manzoni, Nicolas Party ($565,000), and Flora Yukhnovich ($575,000).
Celebrating its 30th consecutive year at the fair, Gagosian capitalized on the strength of its roster with a booth specially curated by Francesco Bonami. The gallery reported sales ranging from $30,000 to over $5 million, with works by Georg Baselitz, Maurizio Cattelan, Rachel Feinstein, Nan Goldin, Damien Hirst, Jamian Juliano-Villani, and Ewa Juszkiewicz.
The European front was just as active. Thaddaeus Ropac—soon to open his new Milan space—announced the sale of Hier jetzt hell, dort dunkel dunkel (2012) by Georg Baselitz for €1.8 million, along with James Rosenquist’s 1966 painting Playmate, sold for the same amount in dollars to a major European museum, and Robert Rauschenberg’s Lipstick (Spread) (1981), which went for $1.5 million. Xavier Hufkens also reported strong results: a new work by Tracey Emin sold for £1 million, while a rare 1956 painting by Alice Neel drew interest from major historical collectors.
In this context, it’s clear that reputation, relationships, and the ability to consistently offer high-quality work make all the difference. Below the million-dollar mark, the market moved with reasonable fluidity—especially in the mid-range segment, between $50,000 and $500,000—where many galleries reported a steady flow of sales. Even in this bracket, however, the spotlight was not on speculative newcomers, but rather on artists with institutional backing or solid upward trajectories, often already present in museum collections. In line with this trend, collectors favored smaller works, works on paper, and rare editions—choices reflecting a more considered approach rather than impulsive bets. According to gallerists, the most responsive sales came from pieces that were immediately legible and aligned with the artist’s established practice: a sign that, in today’s market, clarity and the strength of an artist’s “brand” matter more than surprise.
With the exception of carefully curated booths—particularly appreciated by the press, visitors, and collectors alike—most of the attention remained fixed on high-value sales. One standout example was sans titre, which focused on the work of emerging artist Wei Libo with a clear and poetic approach: a small selection of carefully chosen pieces that offered a coherent glimpse into his creative world, rooted in artisanal techniques and extraordinary craftsmanship. It was a bold move, rewarded with around a dozen sales, in addition to the works exhibited at the fair. Still, to assume that the numbers and volumes of this edition tell the whole story of the art market would be misleading. As Tim Schneider reminded readers in Il Giornale dell’Arte during the 2024 edition, “when the fireworks go off, it takes a while for the smoke to clear.” Basel has always been a privileged observation point for a very specific segment of the art world, and for that very reason, it serves as a built-in guarantee for collectors choosing to buy in this context. It’s worth remembering that the art market is a complex, multilayered organism—difficult to decode, shaped by slow shifts, fragmented realities, and dynamics often invisible to those who focus solely on million-dollar transactions. Not everyone buys the same way, and not everyone sells with the same goals.
Messeplatz project, Art Basel 2025 Courtesy of the artist (c) VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025 Courtesy of Art Basel
For its 2025 edition, Art Basel has commissioned Katharina Grosse to transform the iconic entrance pavilion on Messeplatz into a monumental, immersive artwork. With CHOIR, the German artist intervenes directly on the Herzog & de Meuron-designed structure, covering it with sweeping sprays of magenta applied using an industrial spray gun. The architecture dissolves into a burst of color, inviting viewers to reconsider the boundary between urban space and painterly gesture.
Messeplatz project, Art Basel 2025 Courtesy of the artist (c) VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025 Courtesy of Art Basel
Messeplatz, the main public square in front of Basel’s exhibition center—redesigned in 2013 by Herzog & de Meuron with its elevated hall and central oculus—becomes the canvas for CHOIR, the largest urban intervention to date by Katharina Grosse, commissioned for Art Basel 2025. Katharina Grosse (b. 1961, Freiburg) is one of the most prominent figures in contemporary German art. Since the late 1990s, she has worked on a monumental scale, using industrial spray guns to apply vibrant acrylic color across buildings, landscapes, and interiors, dissolving boundaries between painting, sculpture, and environment. After studying at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (1986–1990), she taught at several art academies until 2018. Her work has been widely exhibited and commissioned internationally—from MoMA PS1 in New York to Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin—and is part of major institutional collections, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Centre Pompidou.
Messeplatz project, Art Basel 2025 Courtesy of the artist (c) VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025 Courtesy of Art Basel
Visitors walk through CHOIR: an immersive experience that merges painting and architecture, inviting them to perceive urban space as living matter.
Messeplatz project, Art Basel 2025 Courtesy of the artist (c) VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025 Courtesy of Art Basel
The structure designed by Herzog & de Meuron, reinterpreted through Grosse’s site-specific intervention, dissolves into a chromatic vortex at the heart of Messeplatz.
Drawing the attention of visitors in Unlimited—the fair’s most anticipated section, dedicated to large-scale, immersive installations—was undoubtedly the work presented by Hauser & Wirth. The piece by Félix González-Torres consisted of a platform, suspended lights, and a dancer who, at intervals, would step onto the stage wearing headphones and begin to dance, turning the installation into an intimate and poignant living tableau.
A 34-meter-long light installation, reminiscent of traditional luminarie from Southern Italy, was the first thing visitors encountered upon entering Unlimited—Art Basel’s most surprising and eagerly awaited section. The work is by Italian artist Marinella Senatore, who has been using luminarie for years as a visual and political language. These ethereal, architectural structures—rooted in popular tradition—hold, for Senatore, the power to symbolically create a public square even where none exists: a shared, inclusive space that reveals the collective potential of community through light, form, and participation.
The Voyage. A March To Utopia is a large-scale installation by Atelier Van Lieshout that takes the form of a visionary caravan heading toward an imagined ideal world. Comprising hundreds of works—including sculptures, objects, animals, and installations—grouped around themes such as energy, mobility, and healthcare, the piece maps out a symbolic journey toward a possible future. Leading the procession are two oxen and a small scooter, setting the tone for a mix of irony and social commentary.
Danse Macabre by Nicola Turner is a monumental, organic sculpture made from horsehair and raw wool gathered around her studio in Bath, UK. Suspended from the ceiling, the material twists and curves in forms that evoke a body in flux—caught between movement, decay, and transformation. The title refers to a 15th-century mural that once adorned the walls of Basel, later removed in 1805 after being deemed scandalous. The painting portrayed death as a great social equalizer, especially in times of plague, erasing distinctions between classes and conditions.
Courtesy Art Basel
Presented on Münsterplatz as part of Art Basel’s Parcours section, Hylozoic/Desires is an immersive, site-specific textile installation approximately 80 meters long and 2.5 meters high, unfolding through public space. The work references the Inland Customs Line— a living barrier planted by the British East India Company in the 1830s to enforce a salt monopoly. One side of the fabric depicts the original plant species used to form the hedge, while the other shows the termites that ultimately consumed it, offering a visual narrative on colonial architecture, resistance, and the complex entanglement between nature and imperial power. Parcours is Art Basel’s public art program, featuring site-specific works across Basel’s urban landscape, including plazas, underpasses, and local shops. The 2025 edition brought together over 20 installations integrated into the daily rhythm of the city.