The 56th edition of Art Basel, the world’s largest modern and contemporary art fair, opened Thursday in Basel, Switzerland, following two preview days for VIP visitors. Featuring 290 galleries from 43 countries and territories, the fair showcased a wide range of works, including a seven-hour video of an American bald eagle by Belgian artist David Claerbout, a monumental Henry Moore bronze sculpture, and an animatronic mouse by British artist Ryan Gander.

Despite the fair’s longstanding reputation as a key event for serious collectors, this year’s edition reflected the uncertainties facing the art market. Several prominent galleries, including Pace Gallery, announced staff reductions and roster cuts earlier this month, while others such as Tiwani Contemporary in London and Dépendance in Brussels have closed in recent years. Dealers at Art Basel reported more cautious buying behavior, with some attributing the slowdown to rising gallery costs and a cooling of speculative demand, particularly for works by emerging artists.

Data supports this trend: auction sales of works by artists under 40 fell sharply from $306 million in 2022 to $48 million in 2025, according to Artprice. Exhibitor Alison Jacques of London noted that prices for younger artists had become unsustainable and that a market correction was overdue. Many galleries balanced their presentations with older, established 20th-century artists alongside living creators, as exemplified by Jacques’s sales of a 1977 Robert Mapplethorpe print for $500,000 and a painting by Sophie Barber priced around $40,000.

Art Basel introduced a “Basel Exclusive” initiative to encourage exhibitors to withhold some works until the preview days, with 195 galleries participating. According to art-pricing expert Magnus Resch, the median price of artworks at Basel remains higher than at its sister fairs in Paris and Miami Beach. He characterized Basel’s collector base as more traditional and focused on the art itself rather than the social atmosphere prevalent at other events.

However, the allure of Art Basel Paris in October led several U.S.-based exhibitors to skip the Swiss fair, resulting in fewer American visitors. Palm Beach-based adviser Wendy Goldsmith cited Paris’s superior amenities as a draw for collectors, who are reportedly delaying purchases until the fall season.

Among standout sales, Gagosian presented Henry Moore’s “Large Four Piece Reclining Figure” (1984) priced near $25 million, which remained unsold at the preview, though the gallery reported the sale of a large Willem de Kooning abstract. Hauser & Wirth sold a seven-foot-wide Picasso canvas, “The Painter and His Model in a Landscape” (1963), for $35 million, alongside more than 30 other works on opening day, according to co-founder Iwan Wirth.

Art Basel director Maike Cruse acknowledged the difficult market conditions, noting that the fair did not raise booth fees and offered discounts to newer exhibitors. This support allowed galleries to showcase less commercially driven work at more accessible prices, such as a lemon sculpture by emerging British artist Hamish Pearch, which sold for approximately $6,700.

Collectors praised the fair’s quality, with Vancouver- and Berlin-based Ann Webb highlighting the strength of the emerging galleries’ offerings. Works integrating technology and conceptual approaches attracted attention, including Claerbout’s “Eagle Eye” and Gander’s animatronic mouse sculpture, which declared it had “nothing to say.” The latter sold out its edition of five at €200,000 each, according to Lisson Gallery’s chief executive, Alex Logsdail, who described the current market as “swinging back and forth” – slower and more demanding yet still generating sales amid an abundance of capital.