8 Must-See Artworks at Art Basel 2026

Founded in 1970 by Basel-based gallerists, Art Basel now hosts the leading art fairs for Modern and Contemporary art in Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong, Paris, and Qatar. Returning to its hometown, the 2026 edition of Art Basel brings together 290 galleries from 43 countries and territories. Activating the city as a whole, Art Basel expands across Messe Basel, public spaces, and leading institutions, anchoring a major week of exhibitions and cultural events throughout Basel and the wider region.

Showcasing a diverse range of galleries representing historical, modern, postwar, contemporary, and emerging practices, Art Basel offers a snapshot of the global art scene at a specific moment, bringing together different generations, regions, and artistic styles within a single exhibition. Over the first four days of the fair, Galerie has curated a selection of must-see masterworks displayed at several of the top international galleries in this year’s edition.

Scroll through to view our favorite artworks at the fair.

1. Niki de Saint Phalle | Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois

A self-taught visionary French-American sculptor, painter, and filmmaker, Niki de Saint Phalle was one of the most significant female and feminist icons of 20th-century art. Initially using painting as a form of mental health therapy, she gained fame by firing a rifle at plaster assemblages filled with paint-filled balloons, producing bleeding abstract art that became a way to confront her trauma, societal injustices, and the male-dominated art world. She began crafting her signature Nanas in 1965, shifting from themes of violence to those of celebration. These large, vividly patterned sculptures of women, constructed from polyester and fiberglass, honor femininity, motherhood, and matriarchal authority while also questioning conventional societal norms.

Her monumental painted polyester relief sculpture, Grand Mural, combines joyful mythological archetypes with a surrealist theme of femininity and nature. It features a dynamic arrangement of her signature figures, including a coiled serpent at the center, a stylized Nana figure with a bright yellow star atop, and playful, dancing creatures, all set against a bold, textured blue background. As an historical masterpiece, it marks a significant structural work from Saint Phalle’s transitional phase into large-scale public architecture in the 1970s.

2. Gilbert & George | Anthony Meier

Since 1967, Gilbert & George have embraced the core idea of “Art for All,” functioning as a single, unified artistic entity throughout their lives and work. Known for their formal looks, anti-elitist views, and provocative art, they merged their identities into one artist. They gained prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with performances such as The Singing Sculpture, where they painted themselves metallic and portrayed automated bronze statues. Most of their subject matter comes from East London Street culture, with their imagery often featuring city debris, headlines, and urban archaeology.

The “Dead Boards” series is a foundational collection of photomontages created during a transformative era for the artists, serving as a critical bridge between their early performance art and their later signature large-scale gridded pictures. The series is grounded in both place and concept, using their domestic interior as both subject and setting. What sets “Dead Boards” apart is the artists’ intentional inclusion within the compositions. In Dead Boards #4, Gilbert and George appear stiffly posed in the panels, their presence both absurd and theatrical. This postmodern setup builds on their core idea of “Living Sculpture,” where the artists are the primary medium.

3. Manina | Richard Saltoun

Born in Vienna to artistic parents, Manina (Marianne Tischler) was a Surrealist artist known for her dreamlike paintings, detailed ink drawings, pastels, and poetry that evoke a magical, highly imaginative atmosphere. Described by Surrealist leader André Breton as a “born Surrealist,” she was raised in the artistic circles of pre-War Paris, where she served as a model and muse for notable Dadaist and Surrealist artists, including Erwin Blumenfeld and Man Ray. Fleeing the rise of fascism, she moved to Los Angeles in 1938. In the late 1940s, she began drawing and exhibiting her work, eventually relocating to New York. In 1952, she returned to Europe and lived and worked in Venice for the rest of her life.

The gallery’s solo presentation at the fair showcases key paintings and drawings from the 1940s to the 1960s, highlighting the evolution of a dreamlike, symbolic style. Repeated symbols, including trees of life, shells, eggs, eyes, fish, and bright suns, create a poetic universe where the spiritual and physical realms blend seamlessly. After her daughter’s tragic death in 1960, her work gained an introspective depth, with transformative motifs influenced by alchemy, Jungian ideas, and mystical traditions. In paintings like Marriage Alchemique [Alchemic Marriage], female figures with reflective faces, flowing hair, and transforming bodies emerge from luminous color fields, existing at the intersection of vision and memory.

4. François-Xavier Lalanne | Ben Brown Fine Arts

A renowned French sculptor and engraver, François-Xavier Lalanne is known for his playful, surreal animal sculptures that serve as both functional furniture and decorative pieces. In collaboration with his wife, Claude Lalanne, he worked under the collective name “Les Lalanne,” challenging the distinctions between fine art, nature, and everyday objects. While his wife, Claude, drew inspiration from the botanical world, François-Xavier focused on animals. His early work as a guard in the Egyptian and Assyrian galleries at the Louvre greatly shaped his artistic style.

The artist’s Âne Bâté is a prime example of his sophisticated bestiary works. Crafted from patinated bronze and accented with polished metal and leather, this life-sized donkey subtly opens to reveal a hidden fold-out writing desk. The donkey first appeared in Lalanne’s work in 1973 with Âne de Nathalie, the ‘Pompadour Donkey’, commissioned by Nathalie de Noailles. From the start, this motif was produced in limited editions and associated with a select group of prominent collectors. Translated as “Pack Donkey,” this piece showcases the artist’s distinctive fusion of fine art and functional furniture, transforming a playful animal form into an avant-garde, versatile desk-and-storage solution.

5. Eduardo Arroyo | Galerie Kaléidscope

Eduardo Arroyo was a notable Spanish painter, graphic artist, author, and set designer, recognized as a key figure in politically engaged realism and the Narrative Figuration movement across Europe. Motivated by his strong disdain for General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, he left Spain at 21. In Paris, he transitioned from writing to self-taught figurative painting. After Franco’s death and the reestablishment of democracy, Arroyo reclaimed his Spanish citizenship and returned to his homeland. His artwork soon achieved widespread recognition across the country, establishing him as a key figure in modern Spanish art.

Arroyo often used sandpaper as his signature medium in striking collages, such as Ramoneur (Chimney Sweep), which features a variety of sandpaper colors and surfaces to create the distinctive top-hatted figure, and in his mixed-media works. He used the abrasive texture of sandpaper both as a stylistic element and a conceptual device to produce bold, politically charged art. This choice went beyond simple texture—it supported his anti-establishment stance and frequently conveyed sharp social critiques. By employing a material typically associated with stripping, scraping, and smoothing surfaces, he visually underscored his criticism of dictators, traditional Spanish gentlemen, and renowned artists.

6. Alexander Calder | Tina Kim Gallery

Alexander Calder was a pioneering American sculptor who revolutionized modern art by integrating kinetic movement into three-dimensional works. Renowned as the creator of the mobile, Calder departed from traditional heavy, static sculpture to produce light, dynamic pieces that engage with time, randomness, and natural air currents. His diverse career included mechanical toys, intricate wire portraits, jewelry, paintings, and large public steel structures worldwide.

The artist’s Untitled (Carousel) is a significant kinetic sculpture that highlights his creative adaptation to the resource shortages during World War II. Created in 1942, when conventional industrial materials were scarce, Calder utilized Surrealist assemblage techniques, incorporating unconventional materials such as discarded glass and bottle necks. This sculpture, characteristic of Calder’s mobiles, transforms a static sculpture into an engaging experience through light, air currents, and motion. The reflective glass pieces catch and refract light, artistically suggesting the lively movements of a carousel, echoing the playful, theatrical essence of Calder’s early multimedia work, Calder’s Circus.

7. Saori Akutagawa (Madokoro) | Kotaro Nukaga

A pioneering Japanese avant-garde painter and textile artist, Saori Akutagawa (Madokoro) established herself as a prominent female voice in Japan’s predominantly male post-war art scene. She is renowned for her striking depictions of women, lively mythological stories, and inventive application of traditional textile dyeing methods. After graduating with a degree in vocal music in 1947, she soon stopped pursuing music and rediscovered her passion for the visual arts. In the early 1950s, she studied oil painting and also learned batik. Instead of using oil paints, she dyed thin fabrics to produce flat, intensely vibrant color compositions. Her works from the 1950s predominantly center on raw, emotional depictions of women and include divine stories inspired by ancient Japanese folklore.

Women XII is a notable artwork in dyed linen by the trailblazing artist. Created during a pivotal year in her artistic journey, it showcases her unique combination of traditional textile techniques and bold postwar modernism. The 1955 Mexican Art Exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum significantly influenced Japanese art. Akutagawa was greatly inspired by Mexican modernist Rufino Tamayo, blending his vivid, primal color schemes and cubist shapes with her country’s folklore themes. Women XII is part of an essential series (including Woman I to Woman XI) that challenged typical, passive portrayals of women.

8. Jeff Koons | Gagosian

A renowned and highly successful American artist, Jeff Koons is celebrated for his large-scale sculptures that elevate everyday pop-culture items into fine art. His work connects pop art, conceptual art, and commercialism, frequently provoking discussions on kitsch, taste, and art’s value. Koons transforms commonplace objects—such as balloon animals, inflatable pool toys, and cartoon characters—into fine art, questioning conventional notions of art. Despite their playful themes, his pieces demand intricate engineering and meticulous craftsmanship. He partners with advanced factories and expert artisans to create seamless, mirror-like surfaces using materials such as stainless steel, porcelain, and glass.

Jim Beam – J.B. Turner Train is a notable Neo-Pop sculpture by the prominent artist, cast in stainless steel and filled with genuine Jim Beam bourbon. Part of his “Luxury and Degradation” series, it explores consumerism, middle-class dreams, and advertising. Measuring nine and a half feet in length, it has seven train cars, starting with the locomotive, followed by passenger, box, barrel, and log cars, and more. Koons based the sculpture on a mass-produced ceramic Jim Beam decanter set he saw in a liquor store window. Instead of leaving the train cars hollow, Koons filled them with bourbon, working with Jim Beam to insert it and affix government tax-stamp seals, believing the alcohol gives the train its “soul.”