What Sold at Art Basel in Basel 2023

The 2023 edition of Art Basel in Basel concluded on Sunday, wrapping up a seven-day stint at the Messe Basel convention center, which hosted 284 galleries from 36 countries and territories. Some 82,000 visitors attended the fair—over 10,000 more than the number reported last year—cementing its reputation as the premier event of the international art world.

“Seeing so many familiar faces and making new connections at the fair this week has proven that Art Basel still holds the throne,” said Rachel Lehmann, co-founder of Lehmann Maupin.

This year’s edition saw a number of standout displays from exhibitors, many of which showcased the full range of their inventories and represented artists. Works on view at several booths were regularly rotated throughout the week and were met with consistently strong foot traffic. “This was one of the busiest fairs I’ve seen for years,” remarked Andrew Fabricant, chief operating officer at Gagosian.

Beyond the core fair itself, Art Basel’s Unlimited sector presented 76 large-scale installations and performances; plus, the Parcours sector featured 24 site-specific installations across the city, including the interactive installation by Latifa Echakhch on the Messeplatz. Around the corner, Liste Art Fair Basel provided visitors with a taste of emerging art from an impressive slate of cutting-edge galleries.

While this year’s Art Basel took place against the backdrop of a cautious art market and an uneasy economic picture, the mood at the fair was mostly positive. Sales volume was consistently high, and even though many remarked that there were fewer Americans than in years past, the return of many Asian collectors and institutions came as more than a consolation. As evidenced by the raft of sales listed below, strong interest from both collectors and institutions was evident across the board.

Here, we share a rundown of what sold at Art Basel in Basel 2023.

Top sales

A large number of strong sales were reported by galleries across the course of the fair. Hauser & Wirth quickly emerged as arguably the most talked-about exhibitor at the fair this year in terms of sales. The mega-gallery sold more than 45 works over the first two days alone, including the highest reported price for an artwork at the fair: $22.5 million for a Louise Bourgeois bronze spider from 1996.

This was buffeted by a slew of seven-figure sales, including:

• Philip Guston’s Four Heads (1975) for $9.5 million.
• George Condo’s Figures in a Garden (2009) for $5.5 million.
• Jack Whitten’s Golden Spaces (1971) for $3.2 million.
• Ed Clark’s Gray Motion (2008) for $1.5 million.
• Mark Bradford’s 2000 Acres Listed (2023) for $3.5 million.
• Glenn Ligon’s Stranger #95 (2023) for $2 million.
• Rashid Johnson’s Seascape “True Colors” (2022) for $975,000.

“As a Swiss gallery, Art Basel is of course our touchstone, and we bring the rarest and most exceptional works,” said Iwan Wirth, the gallery’s president.

Pace Gallery also confirmed a number of big-ticket sales, capped by a Joan Mitchell work from 1963 with an asking price of $14 million (Artnews reported that the work was sold on the second day of the fair, though the gallery did not provide the actual sale price). Other significant sales from Pace included:

• Two Alexander Calder sculptures—Untitled (1976) and Gingerbread Man (1971)—which sold for $2.5 million and $1.5 million, respectively.
• Nigel Cooke’s Promethean Spring (2023) for $425,000.
• An untitled Marina Perez Simão oil on linen from 2023 for $195,000.
• A trio of 2023 bronze, steel, and lacquer editions from Elmgreen & Dragset, entitled The Guardian, which sold in the range of $350,000–$425,000.

White Cube made a number of seven-figure sales on the VIP day of the fair, led by Mark Bradford’s 2014 painting The Less Common Royalness, which sold for $4.5 million. The gallery also sold:

• Noah Davis’s Pueblo del Rio: Vernon (2014) for $2.75 million.
• Anselm Kiefer’s Whoever has no house now, will never have one (for R. M. Rilke) for €1.1 million ($1.2 million).
• A new wooden sculpture by Doris Salcedo—who currently has a sprawling solo exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler in Basel—entitled Tabula Rasa XI (2019–23) for $1.13 million to a “major” institution.
• A new acrylic on canvas by Tracey Emin, You hurt me – You hurt me – You hurt me (2023), for £970,000 ($1.23 million).

David Zwirner made headlines on the first day of the fair after the gallery noted in a press release that it would only share sales for works on the primary market in the future. Still, it reported a number of major transactions at the fair, led by Alice Neel’s 1968 portrait Eddie, which sold for $2.8 million. The gallery also fetched seven-figure prices for works by a slate of blue-chip artists. These included:

• Noah Davis’s Graduation (2015) for $2 million.
• Josef Albers’s Homage to the Square (1968) for $1.8 million.
• A 1998 untitled work by Robert Ryman for $1.5 million.
• Bridget Riley’s Intervals 18 (2022) for £1.3 million ($1.65 million).
• Elizabeth Peyton’s Spencer Drawing (1999) for $1 million.
• The gallery also sold a large sculpture by Gerhard Richter, STRIP-TOWER (2023), which was on view in Art Basel Unlimited.

Belgian gallery Almine Rech sold a 1968 work by Pablo Picasso for a price in the range of $3 million–$3.5 million, and a 1999 oil on canvas by Tom Wesselmann, Still Life with Blonde and Goldfish (1999), for a price in the range of £850,000–£1 million ($1.08 million–$1.27 million).

The bulk of Almine Rech’s reported sales were for newer works, including:

• Ewa Juszkiewicz’s Bird of paradise (2023) for a price in the range of $600,000–$700,000.
• Scott Kahn’s Fireflies (2022–23) within the $500,000–$600,000 range.
• Javier Calleja’s Ready for life (2023) within the range of €400,000–€500,000 ($436,000–$545,000).
• Works by the likes of Genesis Tramaine, Kenny Scharf, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, and Sam McKinniss also sold for low six-figure sums.

Thaddaeus Ropac confirmed more than 30 sales over the course of the fair, led by Robert Rauschenberg’s silkscreen ink, acrylic, and graphite on canvas My Panare Dream With Yutaje / ROCI VENEZUELA (1985), which sold for $2.8 million. High six-figure prices were achieved for works including:

• Sean Scully’s Wall of Light Blue Blue (2023) for $875,000.
• Antony Gormley’s Tangle (2022) for £550,000 ($700,000).
• A trio of works by Georg Baselitz, for €780,000 ($850,000), €780,000 ($850,000), and €750,000 ($818,000) apiece.

Ropac also sold numerous works from younger artists on its roster:

• A trio of canvases by Megan Rooney sold for €75,000 ($82,000) each, along with five other paintings that sold for prices in the range of $25,000–$45,000.
• Two works by Mandy El-Sayegh—Net-Grid Study (Russian Teen) (2023) and Net-Grid Study (Passengers) (2023)—sold for $65,000 and $55,000, respectively.

Brussels-based gallery Xavier Hufkens sold “a glass sculpture in two parts” by Roni Horn for “approximately” $2.5 million, and “an important fabric sculpture” by Louise Bourgeois for a price ranging from $2 million–$2.5 million. Other notable reported sales included:

• A painting by Tracey Emin for approximately $630,000.
• A sculpture by Thomas Houseago for a price ranging from $400,000–$450,000 that sold to a museum.
• A sculpture by Paul McCarthy for approximately $450,000.
• A painting by Sterling Ruby for approximately $450,000.
• A painting by Joe Bradley for approximately $400,000.
• Other works sold by the gallery for six-figure sums included pieces by the likes of Thierry De Cordier, Sherrie Levine, Milton Avery, Leon Kossoff, and McArthur Binion.

David Kordansky Gallery—selected as one of Artsy’s standout booths of the fair—exhibited a booth of primarily new works at the fair, and reported a number of strong sales throughout the week:

• Jonas Wood’s Interior with L.A. Landscapes (2022) sold for $2.5 million.
• Rashid Johnson’s Surrender Painting “Ocean Sounds” (2023) sold for $975,000.
• Jennifer Guidi’s Interaction of Light and Dark (Black Sand with Colored Sand, Colored Rocks, Black Ground) (2023) sold for $400,000.
• Shara Hughes’ Some Flowers Get Trampled (2023) sold for a price in the range of $400,000–$450,000.
• A sculpture by Fred Eversley, Untitled (parabolic lens) (2022), sold for $300,000.
• The gallery also sold works priced at six figures from names on its roster including Joel Mesler, Huma Bhabha, Odili Donald Odita, Lucy Bull, Hilary Pecis, Jenna Gribbon, Evan Holloway, Raul Guerrero, Ivan Morley, Chris Martin, and Tobias Pils.

New York gallery Di Donna’s booth of 20th-century heavyweights fetched a handful of eye-catching prices, topped by a painting by Paul Klee that sold for a price in the range of $3 million–$4 million. The gallery also sold:

• A sculpture by Henry Moore for a price “over” $2 million.
• A painting by Joan Mitchell for a price “over” $2 million.
• A painting by Keith Haring for “approximately” $2 million.

New discoveries

Galleries large and small capitalized on the opportunity of Art Basel to introduce newer names to the international art world. In the Statements sector of the fair, dedicated to “bold solo presentations by emerging artists from around the world,” the following notable sales were reported:

• Beijing- and Berlin-based Hua International sold a 2022 poplar and ballpoint pen work by Gordon Hall for €16,000 ($17,000) to a collector in Milan.
• Lisbon gallery Madragoa sold Jaime Welsh’s giclée print on baryta paper Tullia (recto/verso) (2023) for €20,000 ($22,000) to a private collection in Italy.
• Paris’s sans titre sold Agnes Scherer’s wood sculpture Pour la récompense et pour la peine (B) (2023) for €18,000–€22,000 ($20,000-$24,000) to a private foundation.
• London gallery Soft Opening sold two editions and corresponding “facial wipe” works for $22,000 and $29,000 apiece, and an additional “facial wipe” work for $7,000 from its solo presentation of Canadian artist Sin Wai Kin. The artist was awarded the annual CHF 30,000 ($33,000) Baloise Art Prize, along with Sky Hopinka.

In the Feature sector of the fair, dedicated to “precisely curated, historical solo presentations” by 20th-century artists, the following sales were reported:

• Thomas Erben Gallery reported two sales of heat-sealed vinyl works by Senga Nengudi—Water Composition (green) and Water Composition (multi color) (both 1970)—for $90,000 and $40,000 respectively.
• Paris-based Galerie Christophe Gaillard sold seven works by American sculptor Richard Nonas at prices in the range of $15,000–$50,000.
• Pippy Houldsworth Gallery’s solo presentation of Dutch artist Jacqueline de Jong—among the most talked-about solo presentations of the fair—reported sales for four oils on canvas for prices in the range of €110,000–€165,000 ($120,000- $180,000), as well as another oil on canvas Til Akke (1961) for €40,000 ($44,000) to the Kunstmuseum Ravensburg in Germany.

Other notable sales

• Stephen Friedman Gallery—another of Artsy’s picks from the fair—sold works including a 2023 acrylic on canvas by Luiz Zerbini for $285,000; a 2023 Leilah Babirye sculpture for $125,000; and a 2023 oil on wood pane work by Anne Rothenstein for £50,000 ($64,000).
• P.P.O.W sold a work by Hilary Harkness in the $175,000–$200,000 range; a work by Robin F. Williams in the $150,000–$200,000 range; and a work by Sanam Khatibi in the $100,000–$150,000 range; as well as works by Gerald Lovell, Martin Wong, Carolee Schneemann, and Elizabeth Glaessner for five-figure sums.
• Blum & Poe sold an untitled 1970 acrylic on canvas by Robert Colescott for $750,000; Yoshitomo Nara’s urethane on bronze Ennui Head (2023) for $550,000 (one of four works by the artist that sold for a six-figure price at the booth); Ha Chong-hyun’s Conjunction 20-79 (2020) oil on hemp for $420,000; and Aaron Garber-Maikovska’s Cadence Float (2023) for $100,000. The gallery also sold works for five-figure sums by artists including Friedrich Kunath, Lauren Quin, Umar Rashid, Solange Pessoa, Tom Anholt, and Mimi Lauter.

• Cardi Gallery sold an untitled stainless steel and blue plexiglass work by Donald Judd from 1977 for $1.1 million and reported six-figure sales for 20th-century works by Paolo Scheggi (€350,000/$382,000) and Jannis Kounellis (€300,000/$327,000). The gallery also sold a 2023 mixed media on canvas work by Bosco Sodi for $120,000; Davide Balliano’s UNTITLED_0256 (2023) plaster and gesso on Belgian linen for $50,000; and Domenico Bianchi’s Untitled (2006) acrylic and wood engraving for €25,000 ($27,000).
• Sprüth Magers—another of Artsy’s standout booths from the fair—sold Bernd & Hilla Becher series of gelatin prints, Winding Towers (3 views each) (1967), for €350,000 ($382,000) to a private collection in Europe; and its centerpiece sculpture by Anne Imhof, My Own Private Idaho (2022), for €150,000 ($164,000) to a private collection in Europe. Andreas Schulze’s Untitled (Dorian Gray) (2023) sold for €110,000 ($120,000), and five-figure prices were achieved for works by artists including Sylvie Fleury, Thea Djordjadze, and Thomas Ruff.

• Hong Kong gallery Kiang Malingue sold a 2023 oil on linen work by Yuan Yuan for $140,000 to a U.S. collector and a 2023 ink on canvas by Brook Hsu to a Chinese collector for $68,000.
• Galleria Continua sold Anish Kapoor’s Red to Cobalt Blue (2022) for £775,000 ($986,000) and Carlos Cruz Diez’s Physichromie 1843 (2013) for an asking price of $940,000 to a private collector in Europe. Works by Adel Abdessemed and Berlinde De Bruyckere also sold for six-figure sums.

• MASSIMODECARLO sold numerous works for six-figure prices, led by Yan Pei-Ming’s Bruce Lee, Enter the Dragon (2023) for €480,000 ($520,000); and Jennifer Guidi’s Activated Light (Painted Pink Sand, Multicolored CS, Rainbow Border, Black Ground (2023) for $350,000. Works by Mcarthur Binion, Nate Lowman, Elmgreen & Dragset, Enrico Castellani, Jamian Juliano-Villani, and Spencer Lewis also sold for six-figure prices.
• Sean Kelly Gallery’s slate of sales was led by Hugo McCloud’s single-use plastic mounted on panel work Pull and push (2023) which sold for $275,000. Works by Marina Abramović and Janaina Tschäpe sold for €150,000 ($164,000) and $160,000 respectively; while five-figure sales were made for works by Wu Chi-Tsung, Julian Charrière, and Anthony Akinbola.

• KOW sold Peter Friedl’s video work Liberty City (2007) for €40,000 ($44,000), as well as multiple works by Michael E. Smith for €24,000 ($26,000) and an installation by Tobias Zielony for €18,000 ($20,000).
• Kukje Gallery sold several six-figure works, led by Lee Ufan’s Dialogue (2020) acrylic on canvas, which sold for a price in the range of $650,000–$715,000. Works by Park Seo-Bo, Ha Chong-Hyun, and Kibong Rhee also sold for six-figure sums; and works by Suki Seokyeong Kang, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Lee Kwang-Ho, Daniel Boy, and Heejoon Lee sold for five-figure prices.
• Perrotin sold Elmgreen & Dragset’s The Painter, Fig. 4 (2022) for €400,000 ($436,000); and Genesis Belanger’s One Bite of the Ripest Fruit and He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (both 2023) for €110,000 ($120,000) and €75,000 ($82,000) respectively.

• Lehmann Maupin’s sales were led by Liu Wei’s oil on canvas Transparency (2022) for a price in the range of $675,000 to an “important collection in Puerto Rico.” The gallery also sold Tom Friedman’s Untitled (2020) for $300,000 to a “prominent American collector”; Lee Bul’s Perdu XXV (2019) for $300,000 to a trustee of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; and Nari Ward’s Restin’ Bliss (2023) for $250,000 to a private collection in New York. The gallery also sold two works priced at $115,000 apiece by Mandy El-Sayegh, as well as three works by the artist for five-figure prices. An Arcmanoro Niles oil, acrylic, and glitter on canvas work from 2023 also for a price in the range of $100,00–$150,000; and a Kader Attia sold for €85,000 ($93,000) to a private collection in Paris.
• Lisson Gallery’s sales were led by Sean Scully’s Tappan Deep (2023) oil on linen, which sold for $875,000. Other significant prices for works sold by the gallery include Yu Hong’s The Shepherd (2023) for $410,000; Tony Cragg’s Runner (2017) for €280,000 ($305,000); Jack Pierson’s RIGHT NOW (2023) for $250,000; Hugh Hayden’s Reynolds Rap (2023) for $220,000; and Rodney Graham’s Sunday Sun, 1937 (2012) for $110,000. The gallery also sold works at five-figure prices by artists including Ryan Gander, Allora & Calzadilla, Joanna Pousette-Dart, Bernard Piffaretti, Laure Prouvost, Li Ran, and Liu Xiaodong.

• Templon’s sales were led by Kehinde Wiley’s bronze Ariadne Asleep on the Island of Naxos (2022), which sold for $330,000. Two 2023 works by Omar Ba sold for €200,000 to private collections; Chiharu Shiota’s Endless Line (2023) sold for €120,000 ($153,000) to a private collection; and Iván Navarro’s Mirage Trans (2023) sold for $100,000 to a public institution. The gallery also made notable five-figure sales by artists including Robin Kid and Alioune Diagne.
• Wentrup reported a slew of five-figure sales for recent works by Gregor Hildebrandt, Nevin Aladağ, Phoebe Boswell, Mary Ramsden, and Anastasia Samoylova.
• Zeno X Gallery sold a number works for of six-figure prices: Jack Whitten’s Escalation I (2014) for $950,000; Michaël Borremans’s The Gift (2008) oil on canvas for an asking price of $450,000; Marina Rheingantz’s Chuá (2023) oil on canvas for $120,000; and Johannes Kahrs’s Therapy (bed) (2005) for €100,000 ($109,000). It also sold works in the five-figure price range by artists including N. Dash, Pélagie Gbaguidi, Martin Margiela, Hyun-Sook Song, Mounira Al Solh, Yun-Fei Ji, Pélagie Gbaguidi, Mircea Suciu, and Paulo Monteiro.

• Taka Ishii, the founder of his eponymous gallery, described this year’s edition of Art Basel as a”‘truly remarkable comeback for Asian galleries.” The Tokyo-based gallery reported a series of sales including a collage by Yann Gerstberger, PGM (OX) (2023), for $50,000 and five works by Japanese artist Goro Kakei for prices ranging from $6,100–$34,200. “We were so pleased to see the positive response towards the Japanese artists on our roster, which resulted in brisk sales throughout the fair week,” Ishii added. “We sold works to collectors from Greece, Sweden, Switzerland, and Argentina, as well as Japan and more.”
• James Cohan Gallery sold a series of new works for six-figure sums, led by Firelei Báez’s A taxonomy for tenderness (Carte figurative et approximative représentant pour l’année 1858 les émigrants du globe) (2023), which sold for $350,000. The gallery also sold six-figure works by artists including Elias Sime, Yinka Shonibare, and Naudline Pierre, as well as works for five-figure sums by Jesse Mockrin, Eamon Ore-Giron, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Spencer Finch, and Katie Paterson.
• Galleria Raffaella Cortese sold two Roni Horn iris-printed photographs from 2020 for “approximately” $100,000, and works by Zoe Leonard, Monica Bonvicini, Silvia Bächli, and Francesco Arena for five-figure sums.

• Peter Freeman, Inc sold Thomas Schutte’s Männerkopf (2020) for €350,000 to a private collection in Germany and Meret Oppenheim’s Röntgenaufnahme des Schädels M.O. / X-Ray of M. O.’s Skull (1964) for “a price in the range” of $225,000–$275,000 to a museum in France. The New York gallery also sold works by artists including Robert Filliou, Dove Allouche, and Robert Filliou for five-figure sums.
• Dépendance sold Allison Katz’s Night Philosophy (2022) for $75,000 and Thilo Heinzmann’s O.T (2023) for €45,000.
• Gray sold a 2022 Jaume Plensa marble work, Juana’s World II, with an asking price of $500,000.