You may know about Jean Tinguely, Alberto Giacometti, or Meret Oppenheim – monumental figures of art history who were either born or spent their lives in Switzerland. But what about the many artists that contribute to the country’s lively art scene today? Read on to discover the ones not to miss at this year’s fair.

It is easy to mistake Klaudia Schifferle (b. 1955) for a newcomer. Lately, her works have been everywhere in Switzerland, and her name has been passed along by curators and collectors like the codeword to a clandestine punk bar. By simplifying the outlines of the subjects and objects in her figurative paintings, Schifferle infuses them with a contemporary freshness. ­How remarkable then that the works on view in Basel date back to the early 1980s, a time when Schifferle first received international acclaim as one of the youngest artists ever to show at Documenta in Kassel. Schifferle’s presentation in the Feature sector is a joint undertaking of Galerie Mueller and Galerie Oskar Weiss.

The works of Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah (b. 1990) ask what photography is truly capable of. Past projects have seen the artist expose light-sensitive photo paper within the exhibition space itself, then scrunching up the paper before stapling the creased and torn sheets onto frame-like supports. Something similar is planned for Adu-Sanyah’s presentation at the booth of Cologne-based gallery Jan Kaps. Expect to see black, shiny surfaces and somber hints at portraiture – more painterly than photographic. There might be a whiff of chemical developer in the air, adding another sensual quality to these strange and interesting works.

Merging the industrial and natural worlds has become somewhat of a signature trait for Fribourg-born artist Guillaume Dénervaud (b. 1987). The Paris-based painter draws inspiration from dystopian eco-fiction, film, and literature. Something about his use of stencils and muted-toned paints – which Dénervaud makes from scratch using plants, algae, or minerals – makes his work appear to be from a different time, or maybe an alternate reality. Dénervaud’s vegetal and floral forms will be on view at the booths of Galerie Gregor Staiger and Antenna Space.

Stepping into an installation by Athene Galiciadis (b. 1978) feels like entering a kaleidoscope. Located on the Kleinbasel side of the Rhine, her installation Nachtwache Ich (Variation for Basel) (2025), presented by Basel gallery von Bartha, is part of Art Basel’s Parcours sector. Amid the bustle of the city, Galiciadis invites us into a makeshift greenhouse covered by a painted tarp. Soft light filters in, creating an intimate space for visitors to engage with lush garden plants and colorful clay pot sculptures. Her signature color palette and repertoire of forms – black-and-white diamond patterns, spirals, and yellow zig-zags – proliferate on all surfaces.

‘LOOK, I AM BLIND, LOOK.’ Rémy Zaugg (1943–2005) seems to speak to us directly through a selection of text-based silk-screen prints to be found at the booth of Mai 36 Galerie. The singular artist sadly passed in 2005, leaving a gap in the Swiss cultural scene and the international art world. Zaugg was best known for a philosophical artistic practice that consciously reflected the relationship between author and artwork, or between artwork and viewer. He encouraged us to rethink how we see, read, and interpret our environment, earning him an honorary place among the leading figures in conceptual and perceptual art.

Recent works by duo Michèle Graf (b. 1987) and Selina Grüter (b. 1991) depict non-productive but functional machines. For Fanta-MLN’s Statements presentation, Graf and Grüter will exhibit a composition of delicate kinetic sculptures made of repurposed parts from clocks, cameras, and calculators. Ropes, springs, and hammers are suspended between brackets, spurred into motion by gears and motors. The repeating clicks and movements turn the pieces into time-based artworks, convoluting our notion of time and space.

In the work of Leda Bourgogne (b. 1989), the humble rearview mirror becomes surface for our dreams and memories; splintered and fragmented. Known primarily for her textile works and installations, the London- and Berlin-based artist uses the object for a new work that will be on view at BQ’s booth. Partially overpainted rearview car mirrors are stacked upon each other, and thus transformed into elongated picture-sculptures. What are we looking at? These pieces are three-dimensional objects, paintings, and text-based artworks all at once. In addition to her presence at the fair, Leda Bourgogne is also nominated for this year’s Swiss Art Awards, which can be visited for free at Messe Basel during the fair as well.

When news broke that Valérie Favre (b. 1959) had received the acclaimed Prix Meret Oppenheim in 2024, it felt like a timely and long-overdue recognition. Transient states are Favre’s specialty: The painter’s blurred oil-and-ink lines convey the outline of a figure, before dissolving into colored planes or seeping into the unprimed canvas. There are also decidedly different works; darkly expressive figurative paintings, and visual excursions into scenes and motifs plucked from art history. Find them at Galerie Peter Kilchmann’s booth.

Deborah-Joyce Holman (b. 1991) navigates diverse contexts and mediums with fluidity, embracing an evolving, label-resistant practice where refusal itself becomes a central concept. Recent works include a haunting 16 mm film, 9 hours in length, and a series of paintings depicting film stills showing the domestic spaces of fictional Black lesbian characters from movies and TV shows. Holman’s works can be found on view at the booth of Galerie Gregor Staiger.

Lisbon-based gallery Madragoa is stepping up to bat for Basel-born artist Annette Barcelo (b. 1943). In the Feature sector, the gallery will highlight Barcelo’s singular painterly practice, in which she explores themes such as memory, collective mythologies, and sensuality. Madragoa’s presentation will focus on a series of works taking on the bathtub as a central motif; in Barcelo’s world, it stands as a liquid, magical source of life, capable of changing the laws of physics – or, at least, altering the laws of attraction. In this vein, the booth is bathed in an aquatic aura, with blue-colored walls and carpeting to match.