APAA’s Top Picks From Art Basel in Basel
Flora Yukhnovich, Tarantella, 2025. Presented by Hauser & Wirth.
Art Basel returns to Switzerland this week with over 290 galleries presenting more than 4,000 artists. Many high-quality exhibitions take place concurrently in and around Basel, creating a region-wide art week. The Unlimited Sector opens to invitation-only patrons today, and VIP Preview opens Tuesday June 17th through Wednesday June 18th. The fair is open to the public June 18th in the evening through Sunday June 22nd.
Our APAA advisors have carefully selected exceptional works on view at the fair—we extend our thanks to our members for their thoughtful curations.
Simon Fujiwara, Studio Who? (Red Room), 2025
“I vividly remember seeing Fujiwara’s works for the first time in 2022 at Paris Plus, par ArtBasel, where Esther Schipper had a solobooth with Fujiwara, focusing on his series ‘Who the bear.’ Fujiwara’s project involves recreating iconic artworks from art history through the lens of a cartoon character named Who. Who the bear was conceived during the Covid-19 lockdowns. ‘Who’ is totally gender- and race free and makes a journey through art history with countless cultural references. Who even has it’s own instagram page @whothebear.
Who is again present in this 2025 triptych, where he is displayed as an artist very much in the style of Picasso, working in his studio, with his striped shirt and beret. We see numerous references to art history: Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase, Edouard Manet’s reclining nude Olympia, Auguste Rodin's The Thinker and motifs from Picasso and Matisse, all-in the same cartoony style”
Pastel, acrylic and charcoal on canvas
Triptych
230 x 160 cm each (unframed)
248,5 x 178,5 x 8,3 cm each (framed)
248,5 x 555,5 x 8,3 cm overall (framed)
Presented by Esther Schipper
Nicolas Party, Landscape, 2025
“Nicholas Party’s landscape paintings are central to his practice and are known for their bold colors and surreal atmosphere. In his newer work, the landscapes are slightly less stylized than earlier examples, but they still have his signature soft, velvety look created through pastel. It’s exciting to see his style evolve with more detailed rendering, while keeping the unmistakable elements that define his iconic approach.”
Soft pastel on linen
146.1 x 114.1 x 3.2 cm / 57 1/2 x 44 7/8 x 1 1/4 in
151.8 x 120 x 8.9 cm / 59 3/4 x 47 1/4 x 3 1/2 in (framed)
Presented by Hauser & Wirth
Vija Celmins, Night Sky #22, 2015–18
“Timed with the much anticipated and exceedingly thrilling Vija Celmins exhibition at the Beyeler Foundation, the presentation of Night Sky #22 at the Basel Art Fair is most exciting. Celmins knows for her exquisitely and flawlessly rendered paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints. The painting enraptures the viewer as one seems to fall directly into the star mapping of the darkened sky above us.”
Oil on canvas
19 3/4 x 22 1/2 inches
50 x 57 cm
Presented by Matthew Marks Gallery
James Little, Elvis, 2024
“James Little’s Elvis draws you in with quiet intensity. Built up through the layers of oil and wax, the surface has a glowing, refined presence—precise and deliberate, but deeply human in its rhythm and structure. Little’s grounded, carefully composed work is full of movement.
The title Elvis points to something personal—memory and place—acknowledging the complicated history of Elvis’s rise to fame. The painting doesn’t explain itself. It doesn’t tell you what to think, yet it stays with you.”
Oil and wax on linen
74” x 74”
Presented by Petzel, New York
Lee Friedlander, Self-Portraits, 1964 - 1969 / printed 1966 - 1979
“Lee Friedlander is a central figure in the development of street photography who began capturing the American social landscape in 1948. His series of self-portraits began in the 1960s and feels particularly prescient in today’s age of ubiquitous photography and self-portraiture on social media. As demonstrated in Fraenkel Gallery’s suite of photographs from the series, Friedlander not only captured his image and likeness in selfies and posed portraits, but also through unconventional means—his reflection in car mirrors, his shadow cast on the street, and his figure mirrored in shop windows. These humorous representations depict the artist’s spirit and capture the frenzy of city life during this era.”
Nineteen gelatin silver prints, each print signed verso
7" x 11" (sheet, seven prints) and 11" x 14" (sheet, twelve prints)
Presented by Fraenkel Gallery
Paul Thek, Sicily, 1963
“I’m very excited to see Paul Thek’s piece Sicily (1963) at Pace Gallery, which began representing his estate a year and a half ago. Although this work has been shown in a few exhibitions in recent years—the latest being at Buchholz in New York in 2024—I missed it. For me, Paul Thek is the artist who pioneered visceral art-making before it became a recognized trend (now that “visceral” seems to be the new “identity” in curatorial texts everywhere). His works feel immediate, inventive, and ahead of their time—qualities that make him a true “artist’s artist.” To an extent, Thek was European and particularly enjoyed the support of Swiss curator Harald Szeemann, so it’s fitting to see his work at Art Basel. Pace is asking an incredible sum of money for it, but these works are so rare that I wouldn’t be surprised if someone acquires it.”
Oil on canvas
59" × 59" (149.9 cm × 149.9 cm)
Presented by Pace Gallery
Ana Mendieta, Flower Person, Flower Body, 1975
“Flower Person, Flower Body is a powerful example from Ana Mendieta’s iconic Silueta series, in which the artist inscribed the ephemeral imprint of her own body into natural landscapes. In this particular work, Mendieta arranged white peonies into the shape of a silhouette and released it into the waters of Old Man’s Creek in Iowa, documenting its gentle drift through a series of 35mm color slides.
The work exemplifies Mendieta’s singular ability to fuse performance, land art and photography into a poetic visual language. What makes this piece especially compelling is its layered duality: delicate and unsettling, presence and absence, self and environment, fragility and strength. Mendieta’s practice transcends autobiography, evoking a collective experience of womanhood and a spiritual connection between the female body and the natural world. It was a radical gesture in its time — and one that continues to resonate with undiminished urgency today.”
55.2 x 71.1 cm / 21 ¾ x 28 inch (framed)
Ed. 7/10
color photograph
Presented by Alison Jacques
Lauren Quin, The Conscious Cramp, 2025
“This lush painting by Lauren Quin is an explosive fusion of color, gesture, and intensity. It reads as a duality - a psychological knot effused with light. Its frenetic energy and layered complexity evoke something both visceral and cerebral, intimate yet vast. Gestures and marks appear to arise from a blend of unconscious instinct and mindful precision, as swirling amoeba-like forms emerge from the chaos - creating a depth that drew me in and held my attention.”
Oil on canvas
96 × 78 in.
Presented by Pace Gallery
Ailbhe Ní Bhriain, The Muses V, 2025
“I’m taken by the work of Irish artist Ailbhe Ní Bhriain and look forward to seeing her group of tapestries with Kerlin Gallery at Art Basel. I love her fusion of the traditional mediums of weaving and tapestry with film, computer generated imagery, and collage. In The Muses V, Ní Bhriain obscures a portrait of an Algerian woman by French photographer Jean Geiser. Geiser’s original photograph was part of a series of erotic images from the late 19th century called Femmes du Sud, which was widely distributed in Europe in the form of postcards and boudoir cards. Presented as authentic representations of African culture, Geiser’s images are Western fantasies of the exotic ‘other.’ Here, Ní Bhriain fuses the image of the Algerian woman with details of architectural ruins from a bomb site in Belfast. The seductive and abstract nature of the medium initially draws the viewer in, which then gives way to the darkness and reality of the subject matter. Disconnected by themes, time, and geography, the artist brings these disparate images together to emphasize ideas of intertwined colonial legacies and histories of loss.”
Jacquard tapestry, wool, cotton
Edition of 5 + 2AP
79.9 x 52.8 inches
Presented by Kerlin Gallery
Alice Neel, Pink Table, 1956
“Neel, known for her layered, honest portraits also painted many still-life works throughout her career, this Pink Table from 1956 is a wonderful example of such a work. Examples like this can found in major museums and this is just the kind of artwork I like to find at Art Basel.”
Oil on canvas
104 × 48 cm, 41 × 19 in
Presented by Xavier Hufkens
Alex Da Corte, The Hearing Trumpet, 2025
“The Hearing Trumpet is Pop with a twist of Surrealism. Made of upholstered neoprene, this "Puffy Painting” references soft toys and the bright colors of childhood TV characters, but beneath its simple exterior lies a complex art historical reference. The title refers to Surrealist painter, Leonora Carrington's 1974 novel, in which an old woman is gifted a trumpet that lets her overhear family secrets, and unlocks an unexpectedly exciting, fantastical journey towards the end of her life. Da Corte's trumpet is a cornucopia of bursting flowers celebrating life itself.”
Neoprene, EPS foam, upholstery foam, staples, thread, polyester fiber, epoxy clay, MDF, plywood, aluminum, hardware
88 x 42 x 6 inches
Presented by Sadie Coles HQ
Elif Saydam, Menjun Finds Relief, 2024
“Elif’s practice holds a delicate balance between decoration and ornamental techniques and histories, while taking on histories of labour, identification and social mobility within late capitalism. Their works offer a magnetic draw, rewarding close and slow looking, considering the artist material choices and technical skill. Their presentation in the Statements section of Art Basel will include three paintings and three exit signs – playing with the idea of the game show – three doors, one with the prize behind it.”
Japanese tinted silver lead, 22 and 23 karat golf leaf, oil and cold wayx medium on found toilet stall doors (c. 1920’s Manhattan)
60 X 27.5 X 2 in
Presented by Franz Kaka
Flora Yukhnovich, Tarantella, 2025
“Flora Yukhnovich’s Tarantella (2025) resonates with me for its magnetic blend of lyrical intensity and rhythmic momentum. Yukhnovich captures fleeting moments of memory and desire, light and shadow. What draws me in most is her balance of musicality and raw emotion: a choreographed release, offering a fresh, visceral take on themes long explored by Old Masters—yet entirely her own.”
Oil on linen
200 x 280 x 5 cm / 78 ¾ x 110 ¼ x 2 in.
Presented by Hauser & Wirth
Joan Mitchell, Untitled, c. 1954
“With its lyrical brushwork, rich jewel tones, and bold composition, Joan Mitchell's Untitled showcases her early mastery of color as a powerful tool in abstract painting. Created in 1954, Mitchell was beginning to assert her unique voice among the Abstract Expressionists. Her style was evolving quickly, and this painting beautifully captures the emergence of her distinct visual language that would define her powerful work for years to come.”
Oil on canvas
14 x 21 inches
Presented by David Zwirner
