Our five highlights from Art Basel 2017

Art Basel 2017

In May, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Untitled” (1982) sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby’s, a record for the painter and for an American artist. For the notoriously fickle art market in an iffy global climate, this augured well for the many masterpieces flown in for Art Basel’s 48th edition. The exhibition, held annually in the relatively small Swiss city of the same name, is where billionaires swoop in on their private jets looking to pick up their next art pieces. It’s the week where commerce and culture coalesce, as nearly 300 galleries from 35 countries vie to surpass Basquiat’s grimacing skull. The main section of the show, Galleries, offers the majority of art with 226 exhibitors presenting a mix of paintings, sculptures, photographs and videos. Other elements of the show include Edition, Feature, Statements and Unlimited, all of which cover almost every other facet of art. We curate the standouts from each category.

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