Art Basel, the premier international art fair that takes place annually in Switzerland, returned for its 2022 edition, which had its VIP opening on Wednesday morning. 289 exhibitors drew crowds to the fair’s exhibition site at Messe Basel, to which mega-dealers such as David Zwirner and Hauser & Wirth brought some of their most blue-chip items.
With dealers reporting an energetic return to the art market’s heralded summer enterprise, many pieces sold in the mid- and high six figures. For sales of works by both historical artists active in the 20th century to those working now, Dominique Lévy, co-founder of New York’s recently-merged gallery LGDR remarked “business is thoughtful but brisk.”
Below, a look at some of the sales galleries said they made on the preview day of this year’s edition of Art Basel, which runs through Sunday.
