Art Basel, one of the world’s largest international art fairs, was held from September 24 to 26 in Messe Basel, Switzerland. Originally scheduled for June, Art Basel in Basel canceled last year’s edition and postponed this year’s fair to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the September fair, two hundred seventy-two galleries from 33 countries gathered to showcase a variety of works ranging from old masters to new works by contemporary artists.

Art Basel in Basel 2021. Courtesy of Art Basel.

The number of visitors substantially declined to 60,000 this year due to travel restrictions, down by roughly 30,000 people from previous years. And most of the visitors were from European countries because collectors from the U.S. and Asia were not yet free to travel abroad.

Yet the number of participating galleries was 272, which was not much different from 2019’s 290. To ease the burden on participants of traveling during the pandemic, Art Basel set up a “one-time solidarity fund” of around $1.6 million to provide discounts on booth costs for galleries.


Art Basel in Basel 2021. Courtesy of Art Basel.

Despite slower sales and a drop in visitors, European-based collectors showed strong purchasing power.

Austria’s Thaddaeus Ropac, which has a branch in Seoul, sold Robert Rauschenberg’s Rollings (Salvage) (1984) for $4.5 million, while Jack Shainman Gallery in New York sold Untitled (Exquisite Corpse) (2021), a new work by American artist Kerry James Marshall, for $5 million. London’s White Cube sold Kryptonite (2006) by American artist Mark Bradford for $4.95 million.

Thaddaeus Ropac. Courtesy of Art Basel

As for Korean galleries, Kukje Gallery participated in the Unlimited and the Galleries sector.

In the Unlimited section, which showcases large-scale projects, the gallery presented Korean Dansaekhwa painter Ha Chong-Hyun’s “Conjunction” series.

Korean artists including Ha Chong-Hyun, Park Seo-Bo, Kibong Rhee, Suki Seokyeong Kang, and international artists such as Anish Kapoor, Jenny Holzer, Jean-Michel Othoniel, and Korakrit Arunanondchai were showcased in the main Galleries sector.

Kukje Gallery. Courtesy of Art Basel

According to an online art platform Artsy, considering that the fair was held in a pandemic situation, many galleries seemingly considered the fair as a pathway to promote themselves and their artists rather than expecting sales to take place by prearranging the sales, or shifting them online. 

The next Swiss edition of Art Basel will return on June 16 to 19, 2022.

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