Market Realities

Behind the program is a market with real figures. This page gathers the ones the sources give, says whose they are, and notes where they disagree.

Ocula’s article gives the sales figure as “$4.5 million”, which cannot be right against an 8% global share; we treat it as a misprint for billion, as the fair and ArteFuse have it.

The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026, fifth edition, was reported by Hypebeast on October 8. The article does not state the sample size, regions or method, so these numbers are the survey’s as relayed, not checked against the full report.

Artnet’s May report listed five galleries from the 2025 fair that were not on the first list: dépendance, Lia Rumma, Jan Mot, Kiang Malingue and Balice Hertling. None appears on the final list of 211. Andrew Edlin, also listed as absent in May, is on the final list. Artnet also reported that Air de Paris declared bankruptcy in May and that Blum, in Los Angeles and Tokyo, closed last year. We have not repeated a third-party claim in that report about one gallery’s payments to its artists, which we could not check.

On the organizers’ side, Artnet’s Industry Intel of September 18 cites Monopol: MCH Group’s net profit for the first half of 2026 rose from CHF 4.4 million to CHF 18.4 million, attributed to its Community Platforms division. The Art Basel fairs are not reported separately, and revenue in Switzerland fell from CHF 83 million to CHF 63 million.

Post-Fair, the Los Angeles alternative fair, brings its first international edition to the Marais from October 19 to 25: two buildings facing each other at 74 and 79 Rue du Temple, about 34 galleries by invitation, free with advance registration. Exhibitors pay $6,000 for a solo or two-person stand. The Art Newspaper reports that the Dallas Invitational is also staging a London edition during Frieze week. Details on The Fairs.

A third-party listing site gives different prices; the dossier is the fair’s own and governs. Confirm in the ticket shop.