Art fairs and galleries

Art Basel plus Miami, plus Hong Kong

Art Basel is the world's most famous international art fair; in the early summer of every year, it casts its spell over artists, gallery owners, collectors and curators from every corner of the globe. It is a fair for art specialists and collectors. But increasing numbers of people who are simply interested in art are flocking to Basel – in 2013, the total was over 60,000. Full of curiosity, they mix with the other attendees – to see and and be seen is the key to socialising in the art sector.
Art Basel was founded in 1970 by a group of gallery owners headed by Ernst Beyeler, who set up the foundation that bears his name in Riehen. Various forms of the visual arts are showcased and traded at Art Basel: paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, photographs, performances and videos. The fair brings together more than 300 of the world's most influential and innovative galleries – an Art Committee makes its selection from over 1000 candidates. Art Basel exhibits 10,000 works by more than 2500 artists. Year after year, gallery owners comment that business is good. But the sales figures remain secret.
Art Basel

Art Basel – the label

It is only right to make good use of the concentration of representatives of the international art world during Art Basel. For this reason, Swiss Art and Design Prizes were awarded for the first time in 2012. A variety of events also carry the Art Basel label. Examples include Art Unlimited, a platform for oversize artworks and Art Basel Conversations, for discussions with leading representatives of the art world. At the same time, a series of satellite fairs are staged during Art Basel – all aimed at promoting new or young gallery owners and artists. Under the Art Basel umbrella, Design Miami has developed into a high-calibre fair for modern furniture, lighting and artistic design. It is held each June in Basel and each December in Miami.

Display windows in Miami and Hong Kong.

In 2002, Art Basel was staged outside Europe for the first time, at Miami Beach in the USA. Each December, over 50,000 visitors flock to this sister fair in Florida's vibrant art deco city. This event too has now evolved into one of the world's major art fairs, with over 250 exhibitors. In 2013, Art Basel opened another location in the business city of Hong Kong. Hong Kong offers tax advantages and is ideal as a location for reaching affluent collectors in China.

Satellite fairs of Art Basel

Other fairs have become established on the fringes of Art Basel in an attempt to benefit from the enormous interest on the global art market that the "Art" generates. The number of satellite fairs has grown over the years. Scope, Volta and The List are the best-known – and for some years now, they have had their own firm places beside the main fair. The satellite fairs mainly showcase young galleries and up-and-coming artists, or art which does not fit in with the subjects covered by the Art Basel programme.
Scope Volta Liste

artgenève: the Geneva Art Fair

With barely sixty exhibitors, Geneva's artgenève art fair (established in 2012) cannot yet compete with Art Basel. Nevertheless, organisers Thomas Hug and Simon Lamunière – who used to be responsible for Art Basel Unlimited – have managed to recruit a major heavyweight in the form of the legendary Gagosian Gallery. Exhibits by native galleries are even more interesting to connoisseurs. Among the major names are Blondeau & Cie, the Geneva gallery; the Silvan Faessler Fine Art Gallery of Zug; and two Zurich galleries, Lullin + Ferrari and Scheublein Fine Art. Thanks to an admixture of photography and design specialists such as the Patrick Gutknecht gallery of Geneva, artgenève also pays heed to the current concept of crossover collecting.
artgenève

Art International Zurich

This annual art show provides an interdisciplinary exhibition space and an interactive meeting place for artists, gallery owners, collectors and members of a public that is very interested in art. With plenty of room for face-to-face discussions, the fair offers a broad overview of contemporary art. The works on show cover the disciplines of painting, graphic art, sculpture and photography.
Art International Zürich

Kunst Zurich (Zurich Art)

The attractive feature of the Kunst Zurich fair is that visitors can find such a wide variety of exhibits, ranging from multimedia, photography and installations to the classical expressive forms of painting and sculpture. There are figurative and abstract, conceptual and spontaneous works in small to large formats, by new or established artists at prices ranging from low to high. Kunst Zurich is not only a marketplace but also a forum for lively interchange and sustainability. Within just a few days, some 25,000 art lovers view the selected offerings at this small but outstanding contemporary art fair.
Kunst Zürich

Art galleries

The Löwenbräu site in Zurich is the hot-spot for anyone interested in contemporary art. The building of the former Zurich Löwenbräu brewery houses many galleries – a stone's throw from the Kunsthalle Zurich and the Migros Museum of Contemporary Art. Hauser & Wirth, one of the leading galleries which has other branches in London and New York, is located here. Bob van Orsouw and Eva Presenhuber are also on site. Bruno Bischofberger, who made his name with Warhol, Richter and Basquiat, is another representative of Zurich's most exciting galleries. STAMPA of Basel and the Aktionshaus Kornfeld of Berne add to the offering, with specialities including art of the 19th and 20th centuries, contemporary and graphic art, and drawings by old masters.

Overview of all art fairs

This link takes you to an overview of all the main art fairs in Switzerland.

You can find an overview of the main art galleries here:

Art Galleries