Paris (dpa) – The annual international Art Basel fair opened its doors to the public on Thursday amid a booming global market for high-end fine art.
More than 280 art galleries from every continent are taking part in the fair in Switzerland, widely considered one of the industry’s most important events. VIPs were given advanced access to the fair on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Among the offerings at the fair include modern classics as well as works by stars of the international scene such as Jeff Koons and Gerhard Richter.
Works by around 4,000 artists will be on display through Sunday, including many high-profile and high-priced works by renowned artists like Pablo Picasso, Joan Mitchell and Louise Bourgeois, with retail prices ranging from $14 million to $25 million.
One of the most expensive paintings at this year’s Art Basel fair is Mark Rothko’s work “Untitled,” an abstract painting in orange and yellow listed for $60 million.
Global art sales in 2022 totalled $67.8 billion, according to a joint study released a few weeks ago by Art Basel and the Swiss bank UBS. That amounted to $1.9 billion more than in 2021 and $3.9 billion more than in 2019, the year before the pandemic crisis.
