What Are Art Collectors Looking for at Art Basel?

Art Basel's flagship fair in Basel remains a major magnet for collectors, with 290 galleries participating this year. The event comes as Georg Baselitz, the postwar German painter famous for inverted figures, died on April 30 at age 88, sparking heightened demand among collectors. Thaddaeus Ropac, Baselitz’s longtime representative, notes that interest has surged since the artist's death, though availability from his estate matters. One highlight at Ropac's booth is 'Ach, Mädchen Grün' (2010), an upside-down portrait of Baselitz’s wife that sold for 1.2 million euros at a June 16 sale. The fair's enduring scale and quality keep Baselitz's market pivotal.

Across the fair, South African artist William Kentridge is in the spotlight with a new staging of Monteverdi's opera 'L’Orfeo' at the Glyndebourne Festival, while a related suite of production designs is being shown by The Goodman Gallery. Kentridge, 71, is renowned for his large charcoal works, prints, and animated pieces, and the Basel installation underscores his expanding multidisciplinary practice. The discourse around his work at Art Basel reflects broader market interest in contemporary debates and cross-media commissions, as gallerists emphasize the intersection of visual art and performance in driving attendance and price momentum.