BASEL.- Outstanding works of art, excellent sales, high-caliber visitors from all over the world. Art 36 Basel, the international art show, closes its doors on Monday, June 20. This year’s edition has again impressively confirmed and enhanced Art Basel’s position as the leading fair for 20th- and 21stcentury art. The participating galleries, the Show Management, art aficionados, and the media were unanimous in declaring this to be one of the most outstanding years in the show’s history. The debut of a special presentation of «Artists’ Books» drew considerable audience attention. The ten art projects on Exhibition Square were enormously popular with the public. The international art show attracted a record number of 56,000 visitors and over 1,700 media representatives. UBS, which is known as a leading international financial services group and has been the main sponsor of Art Basel for many years now, has extended its contract for a further three years.

The 36th edition of the international art show closed with excellent results. The 275 participating galleries rated this year’s Art Basel as very successful. Samuel Keller, Director of Art Basel, summed up the art show as follows: «The 36th edition of Art Basel was one of the most successful in the show’s history. The galleries brought the finest works currently to be had on the art market to Basel and were richly rewarded for their efforts ». A record number of 56,000 visitors, art collectors, museum professionals, artists, and art lovers from all over the world visited Art 36 Basel. Over 1,700 media representatives from all continents came to gather information on what is currently available on the international art market. The Parisian daily Le Figaro wrote: «An electric atmosphere at the big Swiss fair, where all the art lovers on the planet get together». The Neue Zürcher Zeitung noted: «A perfect art market – quality of the highest order – the 36th edition of Art Basel». The Parisian paper Le Monde bore the headline: «The art market on display at the Basel fair». The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung commented: «Unbeatable in the field: the 36th edition of Record Year for Art 36 Basel 2 Art Basel steers a secure course between the modern and the contemporary». And the Welt am Sonntag wrote: «This year’s Art Basel may offer the richest array of any fair for a long while».

«Art Basel Conversations,» presented in association with Bulgari, were a great success and drew an audience of several hundred every day. They featured distinguished experts discussing subjects connected with exhibiting and collecting art. Art Basel would like to thank the following firms for their support: UBS, Bulgari, Netjets, BMW, Bâloise, and Moët & Chandon. The premiere of a special presentation of «Artists’ Books» was very popular. On display were artists’ books created by more than 100 established and emerging artists over the past five years.

The «Professional Day» held on Friday was well received by its target audience. Some 100 galleries staged special activities at their booths: solo shows of young artists, thematic exhibitions, book premieres, lectures, and tours. By the last day of the show, both the richly illustrated Art Basel catalog, which provides a comprehensive survey of what the international art market currently has to offer, and the «Art Unlimited» catalog were sold out.

Since 1994, UBS, a leading international financial institution, has served as Art Basel’s main sponsor. This long-standing relationship was expanded in 2001 to include Art Basel’s sister show, Art Basel Miami Beach. Art Basel is one of the most important commitments entered into by UBS in the field of contemporary art, an involvement which also includes the renowned UBS Art Collection. «UBS is proud to be associated with Art Basel, which reflects contemporary trends in society and even anticipates the future. This is particularly appropriate to UBS, which always tries to be one step ahead,» said Peter A. Wuffli, Group Chief Executive Officer of UBS.

Visitors - Everyone involved in Art 36 Basel considered it an excellent year. Their response to the course of the show ranged from satisfaction to delight. Interest on the part of the visitors was reported to have been exceptional. Never before have so many major art collectors from across the globe come to Art Basel. Hotel rooms in and around Basel were solidly booked out. The international art show attracted private collectors from all continents. Virtually all of the world’s foremost museums sent representatives to Art 36 Basel. And there were more famous artists at the show than ever before.

Sales - According to Show Management surveys, all the exhibiting galleries found buyers for their works. Many exhibitors reported the best sales results of all times. Chantal Crousel, owner of the Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris: The fair was better than ever. For the first time, we sold works by all our artists. Peter Blum, owner of the Peter Blum Gallery, New York and Zurich: The fair was very good for me as we made many sales of the more expensive works by Robert Ryman and Yayoi Kusama as well as in the medium range by Marioni and smaller works by younger artists.