Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic The art crowd descended on Switzerland this week for the 54th edition of the weighty Art Basel fair (to June 16). Major galleries, under pressure to make sales in a more muted market environment, were largely rewarded for their efforts to bring A-plus, time-honoured material to the end-of-season event.Dismissing discussions of a market collapse as “doom porn”, Iwan Wirth, co-founder of Hauser & Wirth, was one of a cluster of dealers on the fair’s ground floor, where more historical works tend to be sold, who reported impressive business on Tuesday’s VIP day. His sales were topped by a large work on paper by Arshile Gorky — “Untitled (Gray Drawing (Pastoral))” (c1946-47) — which went for $16mn, while David Zwirner sold Joan Mitchell’s two-part oil, “Sunflowers” (1990-91), from the artist’s foundation, for $20mn. New work also sold, including Tavares Strachan’s marble and flocked-hair sculpture “Amanirenas (A Map of the Crown)” (2024) for $300,000 at Marian Goodman Gallery and Daniel Richter’s painting, “the share fitting” (2024) for €420,000 (Thaddaeus Ropac).Elsewhere the pace of sales was slower. Business on the fair’s first floor —mostly newer art — was mixed, with some gallerists waiting longer than usual for opening-day collectors to come upstairs. Finding favour were artists with concurrent institutional shows, notably at this year’s Venice Biennale. At Goodman Gallery, Yinka Shonibare’s astronaut sculpture (2024, £250,000), Kudzanai Chiurai’s imposing “Black Vanguard Comunique 4” (2024, $150,000), Kapwani Kiwanga’s “Orb” (2023, €65,000) and Pélagie Gbaguidi’s “Incandescence” (2023, €45,000) were among their Venice artist sales, while Pérez Art Museum Miami bought Claire Gavronsky’s “Parting Words” (2024, $40,000).“Everyone is feeling unsettled, so knowing that artists are in Venice or other institutional exhibitions gives a bit of confidence [to buyers],” says gallery owner-director Liza Essers. The Basel fair, she says, “is critical to us”, adding: “We may not have the big numbers, but here you see people from museums and foundations that you don’t get anywhere else. It gives hope that there’s life out there.”Art Basel’s galleries rarely go all-out on their booth designs, in keeping with the fair’s classic feel, but there were some notable exceptions this year. Pace Gallery anchored its booth with a swirling and functional “Banc-Salon” bench (1970-2024) by Jean Dubuffet and sold three editions on opening day for €800,000 each (with Galerie Lelong & Co). Los Angeles and New York dealer Jeffrey Deitch recreated his three-level booth in the style of the house of Surrealist patron Edward James. An editioned chair, inspired by the “Mae West Lips Sofa” designed by James with Salvador Dalí, sits on the green-carpeted booth, and is available for €7,000 through Gufram, the Italian furniture manufacturer, while much of the art on view has a surreal bent.A highlight on the booth’s middle floor is a 1986 cot and dresser painted by Keith Haring for his friend Kermit Oswald, whose descendants now offer the pair through Deitch for $750,000. More contemporary gems include a quilt by Bisa Butler, “Down, down baby” (2024, $175,000), and a glass-based wall work, “Laws of the Universe” (2024, $50,000) by Alteronce Gumby.Deitch says the cost of doing Art Basel this year comes to around $500,000, including expenses beyond the booth, such as travel, hotels and shipping. His opening-day sales were mostly made under $100,000, with the exception of Karon Davis’s “Smoking Ballerina” (2023, $225,000). “In a peak year, the booth would have sold out already,” he says, but describes such times as “excessive”. He is not concerned about the recalibrated pace: “It’s a relationship-oriented business, and I’ve been in the field for 50 years, so have a lot of relationships.”It’s difficult to find a painting at this year’s Liste, the Art Basel satellite fair (to June 16) whose emerging galleries often graduate to the main event. Textiles are an all-out favourite, including quilts by Justin Chance on a booth shared by London’s Ginny on Frederick and New York’s Tara Downs ($6,000-$15,000) and delicate, needle felting by Melissa Joseph at Margot Samel ($8,000-$10,000).The trend, also evident in museum shows this year, needs more thought, Joseph says. “I’m grateful to see so many textiles, but we now need more rigour in how we define it. My work, for example, would make more sense in a paintings exhibition than with other so-called textiles artists.”Overall, the mood was high at the fair’s crowded opening on Monday. “I’m so buzzed to be here,” said the first-time exhibitor Rose Easton, who reported immediate sales of hybrid sculptures by Louis Morlæ (£5,000-£12,000). Exhibitors were nonetheless aware of the gentler market environment. “People are pausing, seeing what’s here,” said Piotr Drewko, who runs Warsaw gallery Wschód and shared a booth with Cologne’s Khoshbakht. He reported early interest, even in paintings, which in this case are by the Copenhagen-based Kamil Dossar (€10,000-€12,000).Art Basel’s founders half a century ago might have shuddered at the idea of a brand-extending lifestyle products shop, but its launch this year seems to be going down well with visitors. Most refreshingly, and unlike in the fair, prices were clearly displayed.Items range from Art Basel-branded badges — “See you in Miami Beach” (SFr3, or roughly $3.35) — to editions of David Shrigley’s Pulped Fiction project (SFr1,300). Artist-designed products, including tableware by Christine Sun Kim and skate decks by Cindy Sherman, are also in the mix.“Everyone who loves art tries to make it to Basel, so it makes perfect sense to have a store that combines art with lifestyle,” says London-based art adviser Arianne Piper. Plus, “it is fun, different and much of it very tasteful”.Staff report that the bestsellers so far are items featuring the Unlimited brand — the title of Art Basel’s section for large-scale experimental work. These include a swim bag (“Unlimited Fun”, SFr55), a black jumper (“Unlimited Emotions”, SFr130) and a risqué tape measure (“Unlimited Inches”, SFr15). Noah Horowitz, Art Basel’s chief executive, confirms that the shop will feature in Art Basel’s other fairs in Paris, Miami and Hong Kong.Find out about our latest stories first — follow FTWeekend on Instagram and X, and subscribe to our podcast Life and Art wherever you listen
