BASEL.- For the 2017 edition, photo basel has upheld its reputation as one of the most prominent photography fairs in the German speaking world. As a fair with a high calibre range of work from both more established and younger galleries, photo basel has attracted a wide range of international visitors and exhibitors.

Collectors discovered works by prominent artists including: Robert Mapplethorpe, Nan Goldin, Wynn Bullock and Jill Freedman as well as younger photographers such as: Sofie Knijff, Fabrice Monteiro, Vincent Fournier and Patrick Willocq.

Sven Eisenhut, Director of photo basel said: “We have been very happy with the outcome of photo basel 2017. Over a typically energetic art week in Basel, the fair shone in both sales and attendance, confirming its position as one of the leading photography fairs in Europe. We are happy to have welcomed international newcomers and returning exhibitors who reported both good sales and interest. Collaboration and innovation are essential elements of photo basel, and working on tape/basel which is entirely devoted to the moving image, brought an exciting new element to this year’s edition of the fair“.

photo basel proved itself to be a fair that supports galleries in ways outside of the expected fair format with tape/basel providing a platform which presented galleries with the opportunity to show cutting edge video art from their artists.

photo basel welcomed returning collectors and encouraged new introductions to international collectors. Exhibitors benefitted from engagement with Switzerland’s strong collector base as well as leading private collectors from Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa including: French Baron Cyrille de Gunzburg; Swiss businessman, diplomat and art collector Uli Sigg; and Christian Caujolle, co-founder and artistic director of Agence VU.

Representatives from distinguished public institutions and private foundations were in attendence including SFMOMA (USA) and Peter Herzog (Germany).

SALES HIGHLIGHTS
Galleries throughout the fair reported strong sales across all levels of the market.

Baudoin Lebon (France) made several important sales including the sale of a Robert Mapplethorpe. The gallery’s curator Judith Peyrat said: “We are very happy. We had a lot of collectors and museums visit and we did very well.”

photo basel newcomer and winner of the Armory show’s ‘Presents’ prize in March 2017, Mariane Ibrahim Gallery (USA) sold works by Sofie Knijff and Scarlett Coten, who won the Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2016. The gallery also sold two editions of Fabrice Monteiro’s work for $10,500 each. The director of the gallery Mariane Ibrahim commented: “There were a lot of very interesting people. The fair is young and I really wanted to contribute to it. I did very well.”

Another newcomer Kopeikin Gallery (USA) sold a piece by German artist, Katrin Korfmann while Galleria L'Affiche (Italy) were delighted to have sold significant number of works by Alfred Drago Rens with prices ranging up to 15,000CHF.

The dates of next year’s fair have been announced as 13th - 17th June 2018.