In the heart of the affluent Swiss city of Basel, a UBS bank branch is filled with eight large bleach-washed abstract paintings by German artist Melike Kar. Steps away, a larger-than-life Corten steel comb sculpture by Wyatt Kahn sits on the lush grass inside the light-filled garden of Haus zum Raben. These and 22 other public artworks – overall titled Parcours – spill the new edition of Art Basel into various parts of the quaint but affluent Swiss city.
Running until Sunday, the main event at Messeplatz opened on Tuesday to VIP guests with 284 international exhibitors, in addition to another section dedicated to larger installations titled Unlimited. This ambitious display features 76 of the same exhibitors but gives the opportunity for a more immersive experience, with towering sculptures, installations and video works.
Widely considered the world’s most esteemed contemporary art fair, Art Basel is now a global brand with iterations in Miami, Hong Kong and, very recently, Paris – which was inaugurated last year under the name Paris+ par Art Basel. The grand dame, however, is the eponymous edition which was founded by a handful of Swiss art dealers in 1970 with less than a hundred participants.
This year, the convention centre Messe’s two floors brim with galleries for various collector budgets. The exhibitors hail from 36 countries and include 21 new comers from cities such as Jakarta, Tbilisi, Mumbai, and Cape Town. Besides its international profile, the fair is an essential part of the city of Basel where local contemporary institutions such as Kunstmuseum, Kunsthalle Basel, Fondation Beyeler and Vitra Design Museum join the week-long celebration with special programming, new exhibitions and parties.
After attracting 93,000 visitors throughout its six day run in 2019, this year’s chapter aims to exceed its pre-pandemic figures with its ambitious programming.
The opening of the Unlimited section on Monday afternoon kick-started the show with a massive crowd of collectors, art advisers, curators, and journalists roaming the ground floor venue across from the main fair. “I could build a little town made out of artworks,” Unlimited’s organiser Giovanni Carmine tells The National.
Sorting through proposals from the world’s top galleries did not pose a challenge for the director of Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, “because quality is never an issue at Art Basel,” he says, “but it is rather like building a huge puzzle to decide which installation goes where.”
From James Cohan gallery’s display of British Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare’s colourful collection of books, The African Library, to Ghanaian artist Serge Attukwei Clottey’s suspended installation of a mammoth tapestry made of plastic water gallon pieces, Sea Never Dries, the displays on view surround, provoke and amuse visitors.
“If you take your time, you can enjoy each and every project – rather than just monumentality, the overall project is about giving the artists the scale they need,” Carmine added.
Although the fair’s booths are much more intimate in scale, Tuesday’s early sales went above and beyond. Evident from the rush of collectors that started to populate the aisles at 11am, the gallerists closed deals in the first hours until winding down the day at 8pm.
International powerhouse Pace Gallery sold a 1976-dated sheet metal, wire and paint sculpture by Alexander Calder, rendered in the artist’s signature suspended format, for US$2.8 million; a colourful abstract oil on linen by Brazilian artist Marina Perez Simao, for $195,000; and Moroccan-Swiss artist Latifa Echakhch’s acrylic and concrete on canvas painting, for €120,000 ($130,000).
Echakhch who represented Switzerland in last year’s Venice Biennale also extends her fair presence with an outdoor installation of a deconstructed concert stage in Messeplatz – which will actually be used throughout the fair’s run for performances by artists such as Naama Tsabar, Rhys Chatham, and Buttercup Metal Polish.
Another New York-born blue chip gallery with international locations, Lehmann Maupin, sold American artist Tom Friedman’s untitled chrome-plated stainless steel humanoid sculpture for $300,000. The sale coincides with the gallery’s announcement of global representation of Friedman, who will open a solo show at its Chelsea headquarters in November.
British artist Mandy El-Sayegh’s two mixed-media linen paintings were also sold by Lehmann Maupin to collections in Puerto Rico and Taiwan for a total of $150,000. “Placements like these underscore the global importance of Basel for our industry – most of our transactions are with collectors from all around the world, including the US, Europe, Asia, and beyond,” says the gallery co-founder Rachel Lehmann to The National.
Fairgoers around the booth of Mexico City gallery Kurimanzutto may hear a curious watery echo – the constant dripping comes from Lebanese-French artist Tarek Atoui’s sonic sculpture that features a stone bowl with bronze cymbal, water spinner, audio amplifier and underwater speaker.
After recently exhibiting his large-scale installations – which he typically activates with sound performances – in Istanbul Biennial, Elevation 1049 in Gstaad and Flag Art Foundation in New York, the Paris-based artist exhibits the intimate floor piece amid artworks by Petrit Halilaj, Danh Vo, Gabriel Orozco, and Nairy Baghramian.
Swiss mega gallery Hauser & Wirth placed the fair’s biggest sale with Louise Bourgeois’s 1996-dated bronze sculpture Spider IV for $22.5 million, in addition to a George Condo painting, which sold for $5.5 million and a Philip Guston painting for $9.5 million.
Brussel’s Xavier Hufkens sold a two-part abstract aqua blue glass sculpture by Roni Horn for $2.5 million. Million-dollar placements were also common in David Zwirner’s booth with sales of a 1968-dated Alice Neel painting for $2.8 million, a Noah Davis painting for $2 million, an Elizabeth Peyton drawing from 1999 for $1 million, and a 1968-dated Josef Albers painting for $1.8 million.
American dealer David Nolan, who has been participating in the fair for 25 years, brought a medley of contemporary and modern pieces to his booth – by Barry Le Va, Robert Smithson, Dorothea Rockburne, and Chakaia Booker. Nolan believes in the value of building relationships with collectors and institutions “who might not always purchase on first viewing but will rather follow the artists, gather intel, and buy in depth after trust has been established.”
He believes this “deeper approach is quite unusual today and has been historically valuable to us.” Booker’s textured cast bronze sculpture of torn apart car tyres is a standout with its hauntingly poetic presence, somewhere between abstraction and familiarity.
Templon gallery, a Parisian fixture with locations in Brussels and New York, started the first day with the sale of Senegalese artist Omar Ba’s new painting to a private foundation for €200,000, in addition to multiple works by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota, who is known for her intricately woven sculptures with red thread for between €85,000 and €200,000. “It is interesting to see such synergy between the fair and institutional exhibition,” says the gallery’s director Anne-Claudie Coric, noting that both artists currently have shows in Switzerland.
Another Parisian with spaces across the world – including Dubai – Perrotin nearly sold out its booth on day one. An Elmgreen & Dragset sculpture found a buyer for €400,000, in addition to an Anna-Eva Bergman painting for €240,000 and multiple ceramic sculptures by Genesis Belanger for between €75,000 and €110,000. An oil and acrylic on archival printed canvas work by Brazilian artist Firelei Baez at James Cohan Gallery’s booth was sold for $350,000 to a private foundation based in the UK and the Middle East.
Other high-figure sales include Di Donna Galleries' sale of a Paul Klee painting for a $3-4 million, an Alex Katz painting sold by Gladstone Gallery for $1.1 million, Spruth Magers’s sale of a 24-second long single-channel Barbara Kruger video installation, Untitled (Our Leader) (1987-2020) to a European foundation for $1.3 million, and Goodman Gallery’s sale of a brand new blue El Anatsui tapestry painting for $1.9 million.
Art Basel will remain open until Sunday
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
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THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Automatic
Power: 530bhp
Torque: 750Nm
Price: Dh535,000
On sale: Now
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RACE CARD
4pm Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m
5.10pm Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Final results:
Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)
Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)
Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)
Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)
Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Scoreline
Liverpool 3
Mane (7'), Salah (69'), Firmino (90')
Bournemouth 0
Zayed Sustainability Prize
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
BLACK%20ADAM
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if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20CarbonSifr%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202022%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Onur%20Elgun%2C%20Mustafa%20Bosca%20and%20Muhammed%20Yildirim%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Climate%20tech%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%241%20million%20raised%20in%20seed%20funding%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
