Art Basel, humbly described by its new global chief executive Noah Horowitz as “the single most important annual event in the global art market,” opened in Switzerland this week. Bringing together 200 art galleries and more than 4,000 artists, Basel is the flagship in a global portfolio that tours Hong Kong, Paris and Miami. Horowitz boasts a PhD from the Courtauld and put in stints at the Serpentine, New York’s Armory and Art Basel Miami Beach before rocking up at Sotheby’s in 2022. His new boss is James Murdoch, who became the “anchor stakeholder” in Art Basel’s parent company MCH in 2020, cementing the fair’s reputation as “art Davos”. Highlights of this year’s show include Ai Weiwei’s full scale Lego reproduction of da Vinci’s The Last Supper and a giant spider by Louise Bourgeois which sold for $22.5 million on the first day. Make no mistake, Art Basel is for proper art collectors – so if you do decide to stump up £60 for a day ticket, be extra careful. At the Miami fair last February, one visitor accidentally sent a $42,000 Jeff Koons balloon dog sculpture flying off its plinth and into the dustpan. Awks.
Photograph John Sciulli/Getty Images for Art Los Angeles Contemporary
