Mila Dalal's Top 11 Picks from Art Basel 2026

Art Basel 2026 in Basel brought together nearly 290 galleries, with a notably serious atmosphere and strong sales during previews. Mila Dalal selected 11 standout works, including a David Hockney interior at Gray Gallery (Hockney died days before the fair), Shara Hughes's invented forest at White Cube, George Rouy's copper-haze figures at Hauser & Wirth, Alex Katz's 1978 portrait 'Ann' at Thaddaeus Ropac, Wayne Thiebaud's small still lifes at Acquavella, Yu Nishimura's manga-like face at Crèvecœur, Hilary Pecis's domestic interior at David Kordansky, Sabine Moritz's gestural abstraction at Pilar Corrias, Dana Schutz's chaotic scene at Contemporary Fine Arts, Derek Fordjour's seaside terrace at Petzel, and Yves Klein's 1958 blue monochrome at Applicat-Prazan. The fair introduced 'Basel Exclusive,' a new initiative where galleries withheld key works from online previews and advance sales, unveiling them only at the fair to restore the element of surprise and in-person encounter.