[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/newsmakers-banner.png?w=1024″]<\/p>\n
\n\tArt Basel opens its doors in Switzerland this week in an art market that has had an intriguing first half of 2026. The fair company hosted a successful first edition of Art Basel Qatar in February, and last November\u2019s strong auction seasons, led by the blockbuster sales of trophy works, continued into May. What\u2019s becoming clearer is that the current market looks increasingly bifurcated: the highest strata is performing well, as are safer categories like Old Masters and Impressionism, even as contemporary art\u2019s middle and emerging markets continue to struggle. That gap was underlined earlier this month when the mega-gallery Pace announced that it was laying off 50 staff members and cutting 50 artists from its roster, and CEO Marc Glimcher said galleries need a \u201cmodel correction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAgainst that backdrop, Art Basel has spent the last year retooling both its in-person fair experience and instituting support measures for its exhibitors. For the 2026 Swiss edition, the fair has instituted a price freeze on booth fees, expanded its step-up program for first- and second-year exhibitors, and introduced a sliding-scale pricing model in its main sector. It has also launched Basel Exclusive, a new opt-in program through which galleries agree to withhold select works from digital previews until the fair opens\u2014a deliberate bet, in a market saturated with PDFs and Instagram reveals, on the value of seeing art in person.<\/p>\n
ARTnews<\/em> sat down with Vincenzo De Bellis, Art Basel\u2019s global director of fairs and chief artistic officer, ahead of the fair\u2019s opening to discuss what Art Basel is trying to solve\u2014and what it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.<\/em><\/p>\n ARTnews<\/em>: The first thing I wanted to ask about was Basel Exclusive. What problem were you trying to solve? Why introduce this program now?<\/strong><\/p>\n Vincenzo De Bellis: <\/strong>Let me start with the last question. We\u2019ve been talking about this internally and with the galleries for quite some time. It\u2019s part of how we keep evolving our fairs\u2014always in discussion with our main protagonists, who are the galleries. The conversations around Avant Premi\u00e8re [for Art Basel Paris] and Basel Exclusive were really two sides of the same coin.<\/p>\n \n\tDigital distribution of information is a massive thing, and it\u2019s actually for the best. No one wants to deny that\u2014you reach more people, more market potential. The digital tools have helped the art industry, definitely. At the same time, art is visual\u2014it\u2019s called visual art\u2014and it\u2019s meant to be seen in person. We all know it\u2019s a different thing to see something in person than to see it through a PDF. No one disputes that either.<\/p>\n \n\tSo Basel Exclusive doesn\u2019t aim to solve a specific problem. It reiterates the importance of seeing things in person, and to use the fair as a platform where certain things are premiered and seen for the first time. This happens naturally anyway\u2014even when galleries send out previews, the fair becomes the moment that you physically see those works in person, especially in the primary market, and in some cases the secondary market, where works haven\u2019t been on view for a long time. We wanted to call that out and make a concerted effort to say: these things are happening anyway. Galleries are both sending and not sending previews, depending on how their business works, and we want to tell people, \u201cBy the way, there are certain things you\u2019re not going to be able to see if you don\u2019t make it to Basel.\u201d The fact that over 80 percent of the galleries who were eligible decided to participate means it matters to them. It was not mandatory. As I said, it needs to work for their business. If it works for them, it works for us. If it doesn\u2019t work, they don\u2019t have to do it\u2014but for many people it does. So we went for it.<\/p>\n You mentioned it\u2019s opt-in, and that 80 percent did. For the 20 percent that didn\u2019t, was there feedback you got from them about their thinking, and why they didn\u2019t want to do it? Are you worried about creating a sort of two-tier fair\u2014where everyone\u2019s rushing to the exclusive stuff and maybe not toward the other galleries?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tNot necessarily. I think we need to look at it after Wednesday [the second VIP day]. Certainly our goal is not to create two tiers, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen, but we need to wait and see. As the numbers stand today, 193 galleries out of 240 that were eligible participated. It was only eligible for those in the main sector, and there\u2019s a reason for that: those are not project-based presentations. When you have a project-based presentation\u2014in a special sector or Unlimited\u2014you have to tell people what the project is about in order to communicate it and get them to come see it. So we intentionally only addressed it to the main sector.<\/p>\n \n\tFor those who didn\u2019t participate, it depends case by case. In some cases, people didn\u2019t feel they had something that was necessarily working for this. Our request was: you need to put something that you feel represents the exclusivity of your gallery and that specific work. It doesn\u2019t matter whether it\u2019s a work on paper or a painting. Art Basel hasn\u2019t given galleries any guidelines other than saying it needs to be important for you, and something you want to keep from public eyes before the fair opens.<\/p>\n \n\tIn most cases\u2014primary galleries, in particular\u2014because we had deadlines to promote this and announce the artist names and the gallery names, in some cases galleries weren\u2019t sure which artist to prioritize, and that\u2019s their own decision. In other cases, they had ideas, but the consignment didn\u2019t go through, and at that point they couldn\u2019t make the deadline. So there were several reasons. In some cases, people said, \u201cI have a lot of clients on the other side of the world, and I want them to know everything I\u2019m bringing. This is important for me. I\u2019ll just keep doing business as usual.\u201d And we said, \u201cFair enough.\u201d<\/p>\n My read of Basel Exclusive and Avant Premi\u00e8re is that they\u2019re about improving the in-person experience at each of these fairs. Is there a particular reason you\u2019ve decided to only do Avant Premi\u00e8re in Paris? <\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tEvery fair needs to be looked at in different ways. This is a global brand\u2014or platform, for lack of a better word\u2014but with five different contexts, and each of them needs to be taken very much into consideration. The fair in Basel is the largest. It\u2019s the one where the breadth of the art is the widest, and where historically and still today there\u2019s a museum-quality, museological approach to each of the booths. So the exclusivity\u2014reserving something only for the eyes of those who go there\u2014was specifically taking on that.<\/p>\n \n\tIn Paris, we have a very prominent venue, which has some challenges because of its scale. Avant Premi\u00e8re was a direct response to that. If you remember the previous years, everybody wanted to come at the same time, and we had to navigate that to give galleries and their clients the best experience possible. So each of the fairs requires a different approach.<\/p>\n On the point of Art Basel Paris and Basel, there\u2019s been a large conversation over the last couple of years over whether collectors are now gravitating toward Paris. How do you see the flagship fair maintaining its importance on the calendar and its preeminence in Europe?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s been five years now, and I\u2019m pretty confident saying that the two fairs have their own distinct presence. They\u2019re separated in terms of timing\u2014Basel is in June; the fall has historically been between Paris and London, the epicenter of the fall season. So for us the two fairs are complementary. It might be true that some people, especially from the US, have a tendency to gravitate toward Paris, but at the same time, the Basel show has become more global in its approach\u2014more Asian, more collectors and galleries from the Global South. Basel itself has transformed into the most global of all five fairs, because of its scale and the way it\u2019s built within the city.<\/p>\n \n\tParis is very Paris-centric. It responds to a very specific context, which is a fantastic historical and contemporary one. The city of Paris is phenomenal in many ways and has been a center of the art world for centuries, but it also responds to a very specific French culture. We have many galleries coming from the French context that we don\u2019t necessarily have at other fairs. So there\u2019s enough distinction. They\u2019re both in Europe, but after five years we can confidently say these two exist in their own right. Naturally, there are moments when people will choose to go to one or the other\u2014or hopefully, that happens with good people, to both of them.<\/p>\n The fair in Basel is, as you mentioned, very well known for bringing museum-quality work and really high-end secondary market material. The last two sales seasons at the auction houses have seemingly driven home this desire for trophy works\u2014A-plus material. Does that strengthen the continued argument for Basel? Does it change how you curate the fair, or the advice you\u2019re giving to galleries about what to bring?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tCertainly the recent sales\u2014but also the recent fairs\u2014confirm that there\u2019s very much a polarization between the high end of the market and the more experimental, emerging scene. Everything in the middle is structurally a little squeezed, or has some kind of tension in that segment of the market. At the same time, when I say museum-quality works, I don\u2019t necessarily refer only to the top end of the market. There\u2019s a lot of amazing-quality art being produced at every level, and most of the Art Basel galleries sit in that mid-market. That\u2019s the vast majority\u2014not only of the Art Basel fairs, but of every fair in the world, or most of them. For us, that\u2019s a very important part of what we do. <\/p>\n \n\tSome of the actions we\u2019ve been taking in the last few months have been done in support of that mid-market. For the 2026 edition of Basel, we\u2019ve instituted a price freeze and expanded our step-up program [which provides price reductions for first- and second-year galleries of 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively. The fair has also instituted lower flat rates for many of their special sectors like Statements and Feature and introduced a sliding scale pricing model for the main Galleries sector, where larger booths pay a higher square-meter rate than smaller booths.]<\/p>\n \n\tWe instituted all of those measures to reiterate the importance of these players to our platform, and also to create a pipeline for the future of art history. Without these galleries, there\u2019s no future for evolving into something established. That\u2019s very much our intent, while also recognizing that the two parts of the market currently under more focus from collectors are very important to us as well. No one forgets that the top end of the market is something we need to keep nurturing and fostering at our fairs, as are the younger galleries. We have to mirror the different segments of the market we represent, but I also want to make a mention to the fact that, since the vast majority is that mid-market, we want to make sure these galleries\u2014and the collectors we invite\u2014respond to that specific need.<\/p>\n On a similar point, the most recent Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report<\/em> noted major boosts to the Old Masters and Impressionism markets. Do you feel you have to respond to that collector interest? What does responding to that look like for the fair? <\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tMy predecessors used to say Art Basel is a reflection of the market and on the market. So the short answer is, we should absolutely be very responsive to what\u2019s happening. It would be wrong for us not to. At the same time, we need to find the right thing that speaks to the Art Basel brand, speaks to Art Basel\u2019s history, and doesn\u2019t necessarily replicate what other people are magnificently doing. So we are vigilant. We are absolutely looking at every result, and through the art market report, we have great insight. There\u2019s nothing specifically I can point out today, but make no mistake\u2014we\u2019re doing our own work.<\/p>\n Thinking back to Art Basel Qatar in February\u2014that was a pretty deliberate departure from how the other fairs are structured, with the open layout, solo presentations, and a very strong central theme. Do you envision that approach evolving to change other editions of the fair, either in Basel or Paris or wherever else? Do you see the Qatar fair as a kind of R&D place to try new things? <\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tThe answer is yes and no. As I said earlier, every context needs a very specific approach. Starting from a blank white page is one thing; starting from 56 years of history that you have to respond to is another. There\u2019s a certain legacy you have to acknowledge and respect.<\/p>\n \n\tIf I may speak personally\u2014because it\u2019s also my own history\u2014by having much more focused presentations, much more intentional choices of who we work with as curators for the fairs, for the sectors, or in some cases like Qatar for the whole fair, we are certainly working on something. The Art Basel Qatar model in that regard is helping us be a little more free to experiment, and to go into collaborations with much more confidence. When you decide to appoint someone like Wael Shawky in Qatar, or Trevor Paglen for Zero 10 in Basel, it\u2019s intentional. Probably without the experience of Qatar, we would not have taken that route. So by having other platforms where we can explore different methodologies, it helps us think about how we can change a few things at the fairs. But to say that fair can be replicated in all four of our other contexts\u2014I would be lying if I said that\u2019s what we\u2019re planning. We\u2019re not. Certain aspects of it can certainly be instrumental for changes or additions to our platforms.<\/p>\n Last week, Pace very publicly had layoffs and cut 50 artists from its roster, and CEO Marc Glimcher said they were doing a \u201cmodel correction.\u201d One of the things he really called out was the cost burden of attending so many fairs. Pace is obviously one of your most prominent exhibitors. Does his criticism of the overall art market land with you? How do you see Art Basel\u2019s place in that, and your role in terms of making this a sustainable market that these galleries can survive in?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tI can\u2019t comment on the gallery itself, of course, but I can comment on Marc\u2019s call-out to the market\u2014on \u201chow the system is broken,\u201d if I\u2019m quoting him rightly. The overall concept was that there is a correction taking place. Generally, there\u2019s been very steady growth that brought the entire art market to expand in many directions, and I think it\u2019s fair for all of us to evaluate where this is now.<\/p>\n \n\tMy conviction is that the fairs are definitely a part of the equation, but they are only part of the equation. There are many other parts that need to be considered altogether\u2026 What Art Basel can do is think about how its own fair model can be more in line with the current situation of the market, and how it can respond to market changes as quickly as possible. Now, what it means to respond quickly is not easy, because we plan a year in advance. So when something happens, you\u2019re going to be able to apply some changes six months later or more. The step-up measures, the price freeze, launching a different fair with a different model\u2014all of those are responses we\u2019ve already applied. Are these the only things we should be doing? Certainly not. We have to continue looking at different measures. We\u2019ve also expanded some sectors that help galleries\u2014Premiere in Basel, for example, or Echoes in Hong Kong. Zero 10 is also, to some extent, an evolution of something we are testing and exploring. So we are doing things that respond to that. We\u2019re looking at many others, but, yes, we\u2019re working on it.<\/p>\n What do you see as the ideal relationship between Art Basel and the Venice Biennale, which opened last month?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s a very dear question to me, because I come from the museum world. To some extent, the biennial model is an evolution of what the museum system is\u2014clearly with a very commercial take. I don\u2019t think its any secret, but biennials have changed very much with the arrival of the digital tools we all use. Let\u2019s speak specifically about the Venice Biennale, because I think we can take it as the metaphor for all the biennials. They\u2019ve become much more like museum shows\u2014much more retrospective\u2014either rewriting history, as in the last two editions, or at least narrating a different history through a different lens. It\u2019s a reflection on a much longer period of time. It used to be about what was fresh and new from the last couple of years.<\/p>\n \n\tIn that regard, the fairs have taken on that role of presenting the new productions. What I\u2019m trying to say is that we used to go to Venice to see the newest art being produced, and the fairs were a place where the market was happening. There were many fewer fairs, and at the fairs you would see new things, but also many things that weren\u2019t necessarily new. More recently, pavilions aside, the main shows of the Biennale have been mainly retrospective. You see things you might not have come across, and artists who have been forgotten and need their position reestablished, to write new narratives. The fairs have become the place where\u2014because they happen every quarter or every couple of months\u2014the new artists are presented. As a curator, I would go to fairs to see what\u2019s been produced by new artists, and I would go to the Biennale to see how this is being described and taken up by art history. So in many ways, they\u2019re much more complementary now than they used to be, because of the pace each has.<\/p>\n \n\tI would still love\u2014just thinking about my own pleasure, and maybe many of the Americans would agree with me\u2014if the fair in Basel and the Biennale in Venice were closer in date, as they used to be, so you could do one trip and do both.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/market\/art-basel-vincenzo-de-bellis-basel-exclusive-interview-1234789257\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/newsmakers-banner.png?w=1024″] Art Basel opens its doors in Switzerland this week in an art market that has had an intriguing first half of 2026. The fair company hosted a successful first edition of Art Basel Qatar in February, and last November\u2019s strong auction seasons, led by the blockbuster sales of trophy works, continued into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-1992425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1992425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992425\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1992425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1992425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1992425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}