Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 wrapped up its edition with a confident bravado not seen for many years. When the machinery runs smoothly, and the buyers turn out in force, it is an unbeatable combo. This was the second edition under Bridget Finn’s direction, and you could feel her imprint on the floor: steadier pacing, fewer vanity booths, and a sense that the fair had finally stopped trying to reinvent itself every five minutes.
This year pulled in 283 galleries from 43 countries — a sprawl of ambition and anxiety in equal parts — with 48 first-timers testing the Miami waters. More than 80,000 people passed through over the VIP and public days, a number the fair will no doubt trumpet, though anyone who has tried to get a taxi after 6 pm might swear the figure was higher. Still, the crowd mattered: collectors from across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East turned up, wallets open and eyes wandering, confirming the fair’s hold as the Western Hemisphere’s biggest stage for Modern and contemporary art.
On the sales front, the mood was brisk rather than euphoric. Dealers reported strong placements at every tier — not the fever of the ultra-boom years, but a clear sign that institutions and serious collectors are still buying with intention. Works by Ruth Asawa, Sam Gilliam, Alice Neel, Andy Warhol, and Martin Wong found new homes, reaffirming the taste for postwar anchors. More interesting were the rediscoveries: Emma Amos, Eva Olivetti, Juliette Roche — artists who have been edging back into view and now seem to have fully arrived. And alongside them, the emerging cohort: Kelsey Isaacs, Cisco Merel, Adriel Visoto, names that flickered through conversations on the floor with the kind of curiosity fairs like this are supposed to generate.
What this edition showed, beneath the noise and the sunburn, is that Art Basel Miami Beach has settled into its role — a marketplace, yes, but also a barometer. The breadth of activity across programs, from blue-chip anchors to risk-taking, more petite galleries, suggested a scene that’s holding its nerve while still trying to surprise itself.
More than 240 museum representatives walked the aisles, quietly taking notes, scouting acquisitions, and reminding everyone that fairs remain, for better or worse, the gateways through which much of contemporary art now passes before it reaches the public.
Foundations worldwide:
The Art Gallery of Ontario (Canada); Aspen Art Museum (CO); Brooklyn Museum (NY); Carnegie Museum of Art (PA); Centre Pompidou (France); Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (AR); Dallas Museum of Art (TX); El Museo del Barrio (NY); Fondation Beyeler (Switzerland); Fralin Museum of Art (VA); Getty Museum (CA); Guggenheim Museum (NY); Groeninghe (Belgium); Istanbul Museum of Modern Art (Turkey); LACMA (CA); Malba (Argentina); MALI – Museo de Arte de Lima (Peru); MCA Chicago (IL); The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY); MFA Boston (MA); MFA Houston (TX); MOCA Los Angeles (CA); MoMA and MoMA PS1 (NY); Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo (MAM) (Brazil); Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal (Canada); Norton Museum of Art (FL); Palais de Tokyo (France); Seoul Museum of Art (Korea); Serpentine (UK); SFMOMA (CA); Städel Museum (Germany); Studio Museum in Harlem (NY); Tate (UK); Toledo Museum of Art (OH); Whitney Museum of American Art (NY); Zeitz MOCAA (South Africa), and more. Their presence reaffirmed the fair’s significance as a premier platform for institutional discovery, acquisition, and engagement across the Americas and beyond.
Meridians, now in its sixth edition, returned as the fair’s epicentre of curatorial ambition — a platform where artists and galleries from across the Americas and beyond push the limits of form. Curated by Yasmil Raymond, former Rector of the Städelschule and Director of Portikus, the 2025 edition — The Shape of Time — brought together 19 works by multigenerational and international artists whose practices probe how art can embody, distort, and suspend time. Ambitious large-scale installations, immersive media works, and monumental sculptures deepened this year’s expanded narrative of the Americas, reinforcing Meridians as one of the fair’s most anticipated and boundary-breaking sectors. Notable placements include Kye Christensen-Knowles’ mural-scale Cycle of Additional (2025) and Silva Rivas’ immersive video installation Buzzing (2009).
The inaugural edition of Zero 10, Art Basel’s new global initiative dedicated to art of the digital era, emerged as one of the defining successes of this year’s show. A dynamic hub of experimentation and cross-media exchange, the sector, curated by Eli Scheinman, drew strong interest from established collectors, new buyers, institutions, and the wider public — affirming the growing centrality of digital practice within contemporary art. Presentations by Beeple Studios, Heft, Nguyen Wahed, AOTM Gallery, Art Blocks, Asprey Studio, Fellowship x ARTXCODE, Pace Gallery, SOLOS, Visualise Value, and others registered exceptional momentum, with multiple works placing quickly across generative, computational, and hybrid physical-digital forms. Highlights included Beeple Studios’ sold-out editions of Regular Animals and significant engagement with leading digital artists such as Tyler Hobbs, Kim Asendorf, Joe Pease, and XCOPY, whose Coin Laundry attracted over 2.3 million NFT claims. Together, these results position Zero 10 as a breakout narrative of the 2025 edition and a vital platform for an expanded digital ecosystem ahead of its next iteration at Art Basel Hong Kong.
Conversations, Art Basel’s flagship talks program, recorded exceptionally robust attendance in Miami Beach. Held in the Auditorium of the Miami Beach Convention Centre from December 4–6 and free to the public, this year’s program opened with a day dedicated to the intersection of art and sport, featuring artists, athletes, and collectors, including Malcolm Jenkins and Elliot Perry, who explored the shared dynamics of endurance, legacy, and representation. In parallel with the debut of Zero 10, this year’s Digital Dialogues brought together emerging Web3 communities with established collectors, artists, and curators to examine the rapidly evolving relationship between art and technology.
The Art Basel Awards — presented in partnership with BOSS — marked a significant highlight of show week with the inaugural Art Basel Awards Night, supported by the City of Miami Beach and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. Hosted by Grammy Award–winning producer Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, the evening took place at the New World Centre — the celebrated Frank Gehry–designed landmark — and brought together leading figures from the worlds of art, design, fashion, music, and entertainment. Selected by their peers through a unique voting system, the first class of Gold Awardees included Ibrahim Mahama, Nairy Baghramian, and Cecilia Vicuña, who received the Icon Artist Gold Award. The evening also introduced the inaugural BOSS Award for Outstanding Achievement, presented to Meriem Bennani, underscoring the initiative’s mission to honour the visionaries shaping the future of art and culture. For the complete list of Gold Awardees and further details, click here. Event photography is available here.
Reflecting its longstanding partnership with Art Basel, the City of Miami Beach continued its Legacy Purchase Program for a seventh year, acquiring Modulations – Sequence XXIX by Peruvian artist Ximena Garrido-Lecca, presented by Livia Benavides, for its public art collection. Selected through a public vote, the initiative invited participation from exhibitors in Nova and Positions, as well as newcomers and recent entrants to the Galleries sector, presenting emerging or early-career artists. The program underscores the city’s commitment to fostering the next generation of artists and galleries and to building a cultural legacy that affirms art’s power to shape the future.
The CPGA–Villa Albertine Étant donnés Prize — presented by the Comité Professionnel des Galeries d’Art (the French Professional Committee of Art Galleries) in collaboration with Villa Albertine — returned for its fifth edition, recognising excellence in contemporary creation and highlighting the essential role of galleries in championing the French art scene internationally. At Art Basel Miami Beach 2025, Kelly Sinnapah, Mary and James Cohan Gallery received this year’s award, selected by a jury of international curators and collectors and supported by a $15,000 prize from the CPGA.
The Art Basel Shop returned to the West Lobby of the MBCC with a new USM design, offering limited-edition collaborations, artist-designed products, and bespoke Art Basel pieces that bridge art, design, and contemporary culture. Highlights included the AB by Artist capsule by Sanford Biggers — featuring jewellery created with Dodo and a suite of exclusive objects — alongside new additions to the Art Basel Core Collection. Special collaborations drew significant attention, among them the limited-edition Art Basel Miami Beach Labubu; the Art Basel x Inter Miami Jersey, an authentic pink kit released in a hand-numbered edition of 305; the Marc Jacobs JOY capsule designed with Derrick Adams, David Shrigley, and Hattie Stewart; a print from Iconic Moments by Emily Xie; and two colorways of Takashi Murakami’s Ohana Full Bloom and Surripa slides. Additional exclusive items rounded out a vibrant offering that connected visitors with the fair’s creative spirit.
Bridget Finn, Director of Art Basel Miami Beach, said: “Looking back on the 2025 edition, I am thrilled by the energy, ambition, and creativity that reverberated within and beyond our halls. With standout presentations, innovative projects, and record engagement, the fair reinforced its leadership in the Americas and its influence on the global art market. Through the fair’s core sectors, as well as initiatives like Zero 10 and the Art Basel Awards, and our revitalised Conversations program, we celebrated diverse artistic voices — from Latinx, Indigenous, and diasporic practices to emerging digital forms — creating moments of joy, discovery, and meaningful cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary exchange that will resonate well into the year ahead.”
John Mathews, Head of Private Wealth Management Americas at UBS, said: “This year’s fair was another standout example of Art Basel’s progressive commitment to artists and UBS’s longstanding support for cultivating ideas and dialogue that deepen public engagement with contemporary art. UBS was proud to present Beyond Pop: Art of the Everyday, featuring works that bridge the gap between fine art and pop culture. They reflect the core of the UBS Art Collection’s values that contemporary art can challenge us and inspire innovative thinking.”
Testimonials from this year’s participating exhibitors: TBA
Art Basel, whose Global Lead Partner is UBS, took place from December 5–7, 2025, with VIP Days on December 3–4 at the Miami Beach Convention Centre. The 2026 edition of the show will take place December 4–6.
Highlights across all sectors and regions, with full details in the attached report, include:
Piero Atchugarry (Miami, Pueblo Garzón) **Survey
Eva Olivetti, SOLEDAD, 1980, Oil on cardboard — Sold for just under USD 10,000 (to a prominent Miami collection)
Eva Olivetti, LA MAESTRA, c.1968, Oil on cardboard — Sold for USD 10,000 (to a prominent collection in London, UK)
Eva Olivetti, PAISAJE 20, c. 1970, Oil on cardboard — Sold for USD 10,000 (to a prominent collection in London, UK)
Eva Olivetti, CIUDAD VIEJA, c.1973, Oil on cardboard — Sold for a price in the range of USD 15,000 (to a U.S. collection)
Cayón (Madrid, Manila, Menorca)
Joan Miró, one work — Sold for an asking price of USD 2.6 million
Lucio Fontana, one work — Sold for an asking price of USD 1.5 million
Joan Miró, one work — Sold for a price in excess of USD 1 million
Catherine Clark Gallery (San Francisco) **Survey
Masami Teraoka, watercolour — Sold for USD 75,000
Masami Teraoka, watercolour — Sold for USD 68,000
Masami Teraoka, watercolour — Sold for USD 45,000
Masami Teraoka, lithograph and a cherry block woodcut — Sold for USD 9,000 each
Masami Teraoka, two prints — Sold for a price in the range of USD 3,800 – 9,000 each
Masami Teraoka, four woodcuts with UV print — Sold for USD 3,800 each
Masami Teraoka, two study drawings — Sold for a price in the range of USD 1,800 – 2,500 each
Masami Teraoka, three drawings — Sold for a price in the range of USD 3,500 – 9,000 each
El Apartamento (Havana, Madrid, Miami)
Ariamna Contino, two significant works made with hand-cut paper — Sold for USD 55,000 each (to private American and Latin American collectors)
Miki Leal, two large diptychs — Sold for USD 55,000 each (to American and European private collectors)
Miki Leal, three significant works — Sold for USD 30,000 each (to American and European private collectors)
Ariamna Contino, one mid-sized work made with hand-cut paper — Sold for USD 25,000 (to private American and Latin American collectors)
Diana Fonseca, two mid-size works made with assembled matches — Sold for USD 24,000 each (one to Jorge Perez and one to a private American collector)
Orestes Hernandez, large wood sculpture — Sold for USD 23,000 (to a Latin American collector)
Miki Leal, one mid-sized work — Sold for USD 20,000 (to American and European private collectors)
Ariamna Contino, five small works made with hand-cut paper — Sold for USD 16,000 each (to private American and Latin American collectors)
Miki Leal, one small work — Sold for USD 6,500 (to American and European private collectors)
Roberto Diago, seven works — Sold for a price in the range of USD 6,000 – 35,000 each (to American and Latin American collectors
Gladstone Gallery (New York, Brussels, Seoul)
Robert Rauschenberg, Tarnishedonor (Copperhead), 1989, silkscreen ink, acrylic, and tarnish on copper with brass frame — Sold for USD 1,500,000
Hauser & Wirth (New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Monaco, Menorca, Basel, Gstaad, Sankt Moritz, Zurich, London, Somerset, Los Angeles, West Hollywood)
George Condo, Untitled (Taxi Painting), 2011, acrylic, charcoal, and pastel on canvas — Sold for USD 3,995,000
Louise Bourgeois, Persistent Antagonism, 1946–1948, painted bronze, metal, and stainless steel — Sold for USD 3,200,000
Louise Bourgeois, Mr Follett: Nursery-Man, 1944, Oil on canvas board — Sold for USD 2,500,000
Ed Clark, Paris Series, 1990, acrylic on canvas — Sold for USD 1,200,000
Henry Taylor, Every Brotha Has a Record, 2020, acrylic on canvas — Sold for USD 1,200,000
Rashid Johnson, Standing Broken Soul “Nowhere Man”, 2025, ceramic tile, mirror, spray enamel, branded black walnut, oyster shell, oil stick, black soap, wax, bronze — Sold for USD 1,000,000
kó (Lagos)
Nike Davies-Okundaye, Flying Angel, 1969, bead mosaic with pen and ink on board — Sold for USD 120,000
Nike Davies-Okundaye, The lost cat, 1973, bead on board — Sold for USD 100,000 to Toledo Museum of Art
Nike Davies-Okundaye, The return of the farmers, 1969, hand-woven embroidery on cotton — Sold for USD 60,000
Nike Davies-Okundaye, Strength of a woman, 1973, hand-woven embroidery on cotton — Sold for USD 60,000
Nike Davies-Okundaye, The mushroom of life, 1979, batik with natural dyes — Sold for USD 30,000
Lehmann Maupin (New York, Seoul, London)
Do Ho Suh, Some/One, 2014, stainless steel military dog tags, nickel-plated copper sheets, steel structure, glass fibre reinforced resin, and rubber sheets — Sold for USD 1,000,000
Lévy Gorvy Dayan (New York)
Andy Warhol, Muhammad Ali, 1977 — Sold for a listing price of USD 18 million
Lomex (Mexico City)
Kye Christensen-Knowles, Cycle of Additional Life, 2025, Oil on linen — Sold for USD 170,000 **Meridians
Luis de Jesus Los Angeles (Los Angeles) **Nova
Hugo Crosthwaite, Mujer Toma Culebra (Woman Grabs Snake), 2024, acrylic, colour pencil, and gold marker on canvas — Sold for USD 40,000 (to a notable museum in Washington, DC)
Hugo Crosthwaite, Tijuacolor, 2024, acrylic and colour pencil on canvas — Sold for USD 40,000 (to a young Miami collector)
Hugo Crosthwaite, Frutas (Fruit), 2025, acrylic and colour pencil on canvas — Sold for USD 40,000 (to a young Miami collector)
Mai 36 (Zurich)
HR Giger, Tachistisches Kleisterbild, 1963, signed and dated recto, ink on paper on wood — Sold for USD 225,000 **Kabinett
HR Giger, Birth Machine Baby, 1998, aluminium — Sold for USD 125,000 **Kabinett
Raphael Hefti, Play with me cause I’m fire, 2025, natural noble gases, enclosed in 30 tubes made of silicate and Murano glass — Sold for USD 65,000
HR Giger, Alpha (Zwei Frauen I), 1969/2001, alu-eloxadized print — Sold for USD 50,000 **Kabinett
HR Giger, Untitled, 1985, signed and dated recto, ink and pencil on paper — Sold for USD 35,000 **Kabinett.
HR Giger, Drawing for Alien 3, Spine [1990-Z-085] / Verso: Drawing for Alien 3, Hand [1990-Z-095], 1990, signed and dated verso and recto, double-sided, pencil on paper — Sold for USD 35,000 **Kabinett
Gowoon Lee, Casper (Pink), 2024, Oil on canvas — Sold for USD 30,000
HR Giger, The Mystery of San Gottardo, 1990, signed and dated recto, ink on paper — Sold for USD 25,000 **Kabinett.
HR Giger, The Mystery of San Gottardo, 1990, ink on paper — Sold for USD 24,000 **Kabinett
Pace Gallery (New York, Berlin, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Geneva, London, Los Angeles)
Sam Gilliam, Heroines, Beyoncé, Serena and Althea, 2020, acrylic on canvas — Sold for USD 1,100,000
Pavec (Paris) **Survey
Juliette Roche, Passage à niveau à Andance, 191, oil on canvas — Sold for EUR 48,000
P·P·O·W (New York)
Martin Wong, Tai Ping Tien Kuo (Tai Ping Kuo), 1982 — Sold for USD 1.6 million (to a prominent U.S. museum)
Almine Rech (Paris, Brussels, New York, Shanghai, Monaco, Gstaad)
Pablo Picasso, painting — Sold for a price in the range of USD 2,800,000 – 3,000,000
Rolf Art (Buenos Aires) **Nova
Roberto Huarcaya, Amazograma #5, 2014-2022, photogram on photosensitive paper — Sold for USD 160,000 (to a Colombian institution)
Mapa Teatro [Mapa Teatro in collaboration with the Nukak community and Javier Navarro], La vorágine más allá, Macharoko: Variación #3, El mundo de abajo, el mundo del medio y el mundo de arriba, 2024-2025, mural, mosaic composed of 12 engraved linoleum plates — Sold for USD 60,000 (to a private collection in Connecticut)
Silvia Rivas, Buzzing [Bonds] (2009-2025), video-installation — Sold for USD 35,000 (to a private collector from New York) **Meridians
Thaddaeus Ropac (London, Paris, Salzburg, Seoul)
Alex Katz, Orange Hat 2, 1973 — Sold for USD 2,500,000
Alex Katz, Wildflowers 1, 2010 — Sold for USD 1,500,000
Georg Baselitz, Selbstportrait 1953, 18.V.97, 1997 — Sold for EUR 1,000,000
Diane Rosenstein (Los Angeles) **Survey
Julian Stanczak, painting — Sold for a price in the range of USD 150,000 – 200,000
Julian Stanczak, three paintings — Sold for a price in the range of USD 100,000 – 200,000
Julian Stanczak, one painting — Sold for a price in the range of USD 30,000 – 50,000
Ryan Lee (New York) **Survey
Emma Amos, two works on paper — Sold for a price in the range of USD 35,000 to 45,000
Sprüth Magers (Berlin, London, Los Angeles, New York)
George Condo, Divided Single Portrait, 2025, acrylic, pastel, and metallic paint on linen — Sold for USD 1,800,000 (to a private U.S. collection)
George Condo, Open Forms, 2024, pastel, gesso, metallic paint and thrown pigment on paper — Sold for USD 1,200,000 (to a private collection)
Theta Gallery (New York) **Positions
Kelsey Isaacs, five paintings — Sold for a price in the range of USD 10,000 – 50,000 each (to collectors in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Denver)
Kelsey Isaacs, sculptural video installation — Sold for a price in the range of USD 10,000 – 50,000 (to a Peruvian collector)
Union Pacific (London) **Nova
Jin Han Lee, Lovers Between Lines, 2025, Oil on linen — Sold for GBP 20,000
Jin Han Lee, Fall, Fly, 2025, Oil on linen — Sold for GBP 20,000
Jin Han Lee, Empty, Clumsy, Small, Good and Wrong, 2025, Oil on linen — Sold for GBP 20,000
Koak, Bather, 2022, bronze with silver nitrate patina — Sold for USD 18,000
Verve (São Paulo) **Positions
Adriel Visoto, twelve paintings — Sold for a price in the range of USD 9,500 – 30,000 (to collectors from Switzerland, Belgium, France, New York, U.S., Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., and Miami, Florida, U.S.)
White Cube (London, Hong Kong, Paris, Seoul, New York)
Willem de Kooning, Untitled Woman, 1978, Oil on paper mounted on Masonite — Sold for USD 2,850,000
Damien Hirst, When the Heart Speaks, 2005, glass, stainless steel, steel, aluminium, nickel, bismuth, cast resin, colored plaster, and painted pills with dried transfers — Sold for USD 2,500,000
Tracey Emin, Too Much Force, 2025, acrylic on canvas — Sold for GBP 1,200,000
Andreas Gursky, Harry Styles, 2025, inkjet print and Diasec — Sold for EUR 1,200,000
Richard Hunt, Half Circle Runner, 1979, welded bronze — Sold for USD 1,000,000
Yve YANG (New York) **Nova
Wang Ye, one handmade silk embroidery piece — Sold for a price in the range of USD 30,000 – 50,000
David Zwirner (New York, Paris, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles)
Gerhard Richter, Abstract Painting — Sold for USD 5.5 million
Alice Neel, painting (1967) — Sold for USD 3.3 million
Josef Albers, Homage to the Square (1955) — Sold for USD 2.5 million
Josef Albers, Homage to the Square (1964) — Sold for USD 2.2 million
Dana Schutz, new painting — Sold for USD 1.2 million (to an American museum)
Ruth Asawa, wall-mounted tied-wire sculpture (c. 1969) — Sold for USD 1.2 million.