It All Starts in Zürich

 

 Installation view, Carmen D’Apollonio: It’s All a Big Mystery at Tobias Mueller Modern Art AG. Photo: Paul Laster  
 

By PAUL LASTER and RENEE RICCARDO, July 24, 2026

International art enthusiasts have long considered Zürich the unofficial pregame for Art Basel, a view dating back decades. Because Zürich serves as Switzerland's primary international flight hub and is only an hour from Basel by train, collectors, curators, and art professionals from around the world have often flown into Zürich several days before the fair.

Over the weekend leading up to Art Basel, they have explored Zürich’s gallery scene to preview artworks ahead of the flurry of the fair. In turn, Zürich's galleries and institutions capitalized on the influx by organizing coordinated events, exclusive dinners, backyard barbecues, and cocktail parties for the engaged visitors.

The launch of Zürich Art Weekend (ZAW) in 2018 transformed the art-world gathering from an exclusive trade secret into an inclusive urban festival. Founded by art consultant and philanthropist Charlotte von Stotzingen with a group of local gallery owners, ZAW was created to bring together the city's art community and create a strategic, content-driven prelude to Art Basel.

 Installation view, Carmen D’Apollonio: It’s All a Big Mystery at Tobias Mueller Modern Art AG. Photo: Renée Riccardo
 

Attending ZAW for the fourth consecutive year, we arrived earlier in the week to adjust to the time difference and settle into our Seefeld rental by the lake before the events began. Getting a head start on the long list of activities, we hit the galleries along Ramistrasse and near the Kunsthaus Zürich, where the marvelous Marisol survey kept us enchanted for an afternoon.

Leading up to ZAW's official opening, we visited galleries and shops and attended early opening receptions and dinners. When the weekend events began on Friday morning, we spent most of the day at the former Löwenbräu brewery building on Limmatstrasse, which was taken over by galleries and museums in 1996 and later expanded to house additional cultural spaces.

With the ninth edition featuring 75+ exhibitions and 150+ public events across more than 70 venues, we kept up a steady pace until we departed for Basel on Sunday afternoon.

Scroll through to see some of the artworks and players that caught our attention during our delightful six-day stay. WM

 

Marisol, Tea for Three (1960) at Kunsthaus Zürich. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Marisol, Portrait of Betty (1961) at Kunsthaus Zürich. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Installation view, Marisol, Triggerfish II (1972) at Kunsthaus Zürich. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Andrea Caratsch and David McDermott with George Condo's sculpture Madam Voltaire (2005) at Galerie Andrea Caratsch AG. Photo: Paul Laster

 

 Installation view, Roberto Ruspoli: Meshes of the Afternoon at Lea Bischofberger Gallery. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Lea Bischofberger with Roberto Ruspoli painting Angel (Deus Ex Machina) (2026) at Lea Bischofberger Gallery. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Francis Alÿs, Lullaby (2024) at Galerie Peter Kilchmann. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

 Gallerists Lara Gea Benavent, Ilan Karpio, and Lena Affentranger at Galerie Peter Kilchmann. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Artist AA Bronson and gallerist Victor Gisler with General Idea painting 1968 General Idea #6 (1986) from the exhibition Homage to General Idea at Mai 36 Galerie. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Installation view, Twenty Thousand Years with Betty Woodman's Summer View (2013) and Becky Tucker's Hyetal (2026) at Galerie Fabian Lang. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Installation view, Twenty Thousand Years at Galerie Fabian Lang. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Artist Tim White-Sobieski and gallerist Pascal Robert with the artist's painting Evening Conversation II - A Silent Afternoon (2026) at Pascal Robert Gallery. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Installation view, James Jarvaise & Henry Taylor: Sometimes a straight line has to be crooked at Hauser & Wirth, Limmatstrasse. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Ingrid Schaffner being introduced by Maddy Martin to discuss James Jarvaise & Henry Taylor: Sometimes a straight line has to be crooked at Hauser & Wirth, Limmatstrasse. Photo: Paul Laster

 

 Installation view, Regift - Swiss Institute New York at 40 (Louise Lawler matches) at LUMA Westbau. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Regift - Swiss Institute New York at 40 co-curators Alison Coplan and Stefanie Hessler discussing the exhibition after being introduced by Vassilis Oikonomopoulos, Artistic Director at LUMA Arles, at LUMA Westbau. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Eliza Douglas, Sugar Colt (2024), Regift - Swiss Institute New York at 40 at LUMA Westbau. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

 Kunsthalle Zürich director and curator Fanny Hauser discussing Henrik Olesen: Copies of real-life objects, tools and food at Kunsthalle Zürich. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Former Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld photographing a Henrik Olesen sculpture in his Copies of real-life objects, tools and food exhibition. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Installation view, Fritz Glarner, The Rockefeller Dining Room (1963-64) at Museum Haus Konstruktiv. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Museum Haus Konstruktiv director and chief curator Sabine Schaschl discussing Katja Schenker: Caryatids Go for a Swim at Museum Haus Konstruktiv. Photo: Paul Laster

 

 Installation view, Katja Schenker: Caryatids Go for a Swim at Museum Haus Konstruktiv. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt exhibition curator Emmanuelle Rapin and Stand132 owner Kurt Stäubli at Stand132. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

 Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt, Faltung (1976) from the exhibition Original Typewritings and Zincographies, 1972–1989 at Stand132. Photo: Paul Laster

 

  Karen Kilimnik, Miss France, The Mastermind (2026) at Galerie Eva Presenhuber. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Architect and designer Kulapat Yantrasast with a gold monkey at Karen Kilimnik's exhibition at Galerie Eva Presenhuber. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Karen Kilimnik, the battle of Flower Lane (2026) at Galerie Eva Presenhuber. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Flatmarkus gallerist Markus Rischgasser and Laty Lai with ZeroKimani-Lagotto (the dog) outside the gallery. Photo: Paul Laster

 

David Weishaar, Half Kept (2026) in his Eyelids, towards Night exhibition at Flatmarkus. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Avery Singer discussing her War_overlays exhibition with curator Inês Grosso at Hauser & Wirth, Limmatstrasse. Photo: Paul Laster

 

 Yasmin Naderi Afschar, Co-Director of Exhibitions at Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, speaking with Mohamed Bourouissa about his exhibition Pour Noubia at Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Installation view, Mohamed Bourouissa: Pour Noubia at Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Ekene Emeka-Maduka with her painting Saturdays (2026) in her exhibition Lord of the Flies: The Plot Thickens at Fabienne Levy. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Installation view, Zurich Art Prize 2026: Rosa Barba at Museum Haus Konstruktiv. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Photographer Vaughan James and artists Trevor Guthrie and Noah Becker outside the opening of Installation view, Alina Szapocznikow: Autobiography in Fragments at Hauser & Wirth, Bahnhofstrasse. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Installation view, Alina Szapocznikow: Autobiography in Fragments at Hauser & Wirth, Bahnhofstrasse. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Hana Miletic speaking with a visitor to her Not-Yets exhibition in front of her ongoing Untitled (Softwares) (2018-26) installation at Galerie Tschudi. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Damien & The Love Guru gallerist Priya Shetty with Mickael Marman paintings in his exhibition Zug at Damien & The Love Guru. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Christoph Niemann with his silkscreen print Brooklyn Bridge (2024) from his Urban Horizons exhibition at Galerie Gmurzynska. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

A freshly painted still life by Philipp Keel in his studio. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Philipp Keel in his studio. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Banks Violette, Untitled (The End), detail (2026) from the exhibition Banks Violette: Bobby Pickett Plays the Hits at Bernheim Gallery. Photo: Paul Laster

 

 Artist and collector Matthias Brunner speaking about his work during a ZAW VIP tour of his collection. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Installation view, Xie Nanxing: Fugitive Figuration, Paintings 1994 - 2026 at Galerie Urs Meile. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Artist Raphaela Vogel and gallerist Marie Lusa with works in the artist's Zucker * Totholz * Schimmel exhibition at Galerie Gregor Staiger. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Installation view, Sandra Vásquez de la Horra: Healing the Tree at Galerie Haas Zürich. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Kateryna Lysovenko with her painting Vienna, playground, dedicated to playgrounds in Ukraine (2025) from her exhibition Noch eine Welle (Another Wave) at Karma International. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Installation view, Kateryna Lysovenko: Noch eine Welle (Another Wave), Karma International. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Trevor Guthrie with his work in his studio. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Jazz procession leading guests to the Zurich Art Weekend VIP Dinner at the Kunsthaus Zürich. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Zurich Art Weekend VIP Dinner at the Kunsthaus Zürich. Photo: Renée Riccardo

 

Artists Anna-Sophie Berger, Aura Rosenberg, Nina Beier, and John Miller, and curator Alison Coplan at the cocktail hour before the Zurich Art Weekend VIP Dinner at the Kunsthaus Zürich. Photo: Paul Laster

 

Niki de Saint Phalle's L'ange protecteur (Guardian Angel) (1997) at Zürich Main Station. Photo: Renée Riccardo