With this year’s new initiative Basel Exclusive, more than 200 Art Basel exhibitors voluntarily left significant works from their stands off pre-fair PDFs sent to clients. The aim was to heighten excitement and encourage collectors to visit the fair in person.
“None of us want to deny the importance of the digital platforms in how we live and are informed by our digital tools,” says the Art Basel director Vincenzo de Bellis. “At the same time, you need to find a balance between wanting to do that and having people who make the effort to come here—they need to have something special that otherwise they would not have.”
While attendees seemed enthused by being surprised with works in the stands, it was not necessarily a boon for sales. Exclusive work that sold during the VIP previews tended towards tried-and-tested artists and work with relatively competitive price tags. One of the more high-profile paintings in the Exclusive initiative was Pablo Picasso’s Homme Assis (1972) at Helly Nahmad. The gallery confirmed the large-scale work had sold but did not disclose a price. Picasso seemed to be a winning bet for Exclusive. Almine Rech, the granddaughter-in-law of the artist, sold his 1938 painting Satyre, Pan et nymphe for $6m-$6.5m during the first VIP preview day.
Hauser & Wirth also sold a 1946 painting by Philip Guston, The Courtyard, for an undisclosed price during the VIP preview. The early figurative work comes from a private US collection, gifted by Guston just a few years after it was painted.
“We really want to emphasise the importance of coming and experiencing the works in person,” says Marc Payot, the president of Hauser & Wirth. “We picked Guston because it’s such an exceptional work to be on the market. It’s a super rare object, and we thought it’s just perfect to do for Exclusive.”
Other reported sales included Elizabeth Peyton’s Transmission (E, rose) (2026) for $1.2m at David Zwirner; a painting by Nicolas Party for around $200,000 at Xavier Hufkens; and Hayal Pozanti’s Envoys From Deep Time (2026) for $55,000 at Jessica Silverman. Sprüth Magers also placed a John Baldessari work for $500,000, and Casey Kaplan sold Blue-fire (2026) by Patricia Fernández Carcedo for around $20,000.
