- by Mary Corrigall 

Moffat Takadiwa at Unlimited, Art Basel.

How did such a small, seemingly provincial Swiss town such as Basel become the heart of the contemporary art world (in June)? The Art Basel fair's reputation and standing as the most prestigious and largest art fair in the world creates the expectation that Basel itself is a landmark city, so it's a surprise to arrive in Basel to discover that the reverse has been the case. Of course, it's taken time, since the 1970s, to build this art fair's size and status, giving life to a string of offshoot fairs – Liste, Volta, Photo Basel, and Africa Basel, now in its second year. 

If ever one needed proof that a large art event can breathe life into and drive visitors to a destination, Art Basel makes an ideal case, though of course, its proximity to the French and German borders does lend it a geographic advantage - it's a 3-hour train ride from Paris. Indeed, the floors of Art Basel were heaving on the weekend, with out-of-towners and locals making a beeline to this humongous art extravaganza. Brobdingnagian is a more apt adjective given there are over 249 galleries participating and over 90 000 people attended. 

It's hard to imagine anyone leaving Basel feeling like the trip there had been a wasted one. Even if you have a limited budget and unsophisticated ideas about art, you would find art or an experience in Basel to satisfy your leanings, finding a sweet spot at Volta.

Put differently, Basel’s art ecosystem during art week is sharply stratified, offering a revealing view of where African artists and galleries sit within this globalised microcosm.

Jack Shainman Gallery at Art Basel.

Seemingly inverting the hierarchical pyramid, the ground floor of Art Basel is where the most prestigious galleries and artists are to be found. The Unlimited section occupies the apex, given it reads like a museum or biennale presentation with large-scale installation works that are dotted around a large warehouse. The idea is to present works that might not ordinarily find their way onto an art fair's floor. This year it was curated by Ruba Katrib, the chief curator of MoMA PS1. The works tended to be historical in line with this museum vibe they are cultivating. It was here that Berni Searle's lesser-known series, Profile (2002), presented by the PSM Gallery in Berlin, could be found. However, as this section felt more like an art theme park with the brightly coloured large-scale works demanding attention, it was Moffat Takadiwa's Water Vessels, a large-scale work in his characteristic language of disused computer keys, that drew crowds. Novelty, size, and bright colours seemed to win over visitors in this section. 

It wasn't only on this elevated stage that art from the African continent could be found, but also on every little rung of the Basel art ecosystem, proving that African art has a foothold at the centre of the contemporary art world. Is it enough of a foothold? What kind of art is finding its way into the centre, by which artists and via which galleries? 

As with Takadiwa and Searle, the art on the ground floor of Art Basel was presented by European or US-based galleries. In other words, to make it to the top end of the art world, African artists need to work with galleries in Western art capitals. Africa-based galleries from Goodman to Gypsum only have a presence on the second floor of the Art Basel fair and the other fairs — but more of that later.

Gypsum Gallery.

The first floor of Art Basel feels less like an art fair than a museum, dominated by historical works by some of the world’s most famous artists, from Picasso, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Takashi Murakami to Jean Dubuffet, Louise Bourgeois and Alighiero Boetti. The larger the gallery, the more imposing the historical work. Gagosian, for instance, asserted its stature with a large gold reclining figure by Henry Moore, while Pace underlined its position — despite its well-publicised layoffs — with a sizeable Jean Dubuffet.

Naturally, works by William Kentridge were to be found in this section of the fair at Gagosian, as were those by Esther Mahlangu (at Jenkins Johnson). Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum seems to have entered this stratosphere (at Gallery Lelong), and it was expected to find a stunning Ibrahim Mahama, and El Anatsui at White Cube. 

Ibrahim Mahama installation.

It was telling that aside from works by Souleymane Keïta presented by the Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, there were no other historical works from the African continent on this floor. In this way, you have this sense that only African contemporary art has gravitas, and there remains little recognition of figures or historical movements in Africa despite the recent museum shows in London focused on Nigerian and Moroccan modernism. 

Art Basel prides itself on functioning as a "meeting point for the international institutional community", claiming to have attracted representatives from more than 270 museums and foundations this year. Given this, you could conclude that the contemporary focus in the "museum" section of Art Basel is shaping the bias determining museum acquisitions. 

Nevertheless, Goodman and Stevenson galleries were both offering historical works by Gerard Sekoto; Ben Enwonwu (Stevenson); and Irma Stern (at Goodman), which suggests there is some appetite, and certainly, the main reason the galleries on the floor below are focusing on historical works is that they are more likely to fetch higher sums. 

Vitshois Mwalbwe Bondo, showing at Kin Art Studio at Africa Basel.

The fair’s headline sales were historical works: Picasso’s Le peintre et son modèle dans un paysage (1963) sold for USD 35 million at Hauser & Wirth, Louise Bourgeois’ Les Fleurs (2009) for USD 2.5 million, and two David Hockney works for USD 8.5 million and USD 650,000 at the Grey Gallery.

Two of the large retrospectives at museums in Basel also framed interest at the fair, such as the Helen Frankenthaler at the Kunstmuseum Basel and the Pierre Huyghe at the Fondation Beyeler.

Swiss and Basel-based museums aren't actively showing and collecting African art, according to Ben Füglister, director of the newly established Africa Basel. As has been the case with 1-54 London, this fair should hopefully make it easier for museum curators to identify African works, as it does take time and effort to track them down at Art Basel, even on the second floor, as there are over a hundred galleries to visit, and it's easy to get distracted by other art and works. 

Museum-standard works were to be found at Africa Basel, such as large-scale works by established artists such as Barthelemy Toguo and Abdoulaye Konate (at Galerie 38) and those by Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga at October Gallery and an impressive work by Moffat Takadiwa presented by Reto Andri Objekte. This compact fair is refreshing after wading through aisles of art at Art Basel. Space affords you time to consider the artworks; otherwise, you feel under pressure to move briskly to see it all, only pausing to study very eye-catching or novelty-driven art. 

There may have been a few overly self-consciously African works, pandering to stereotypes at Africa Basel, but largely the selection of artworks at this fair was of a high standard. 

Barthelemy Toguo at 38 Galerie at Africa Basely.

Originally conceived as a waiting list for galleries seeking entry to Art Basel, Liste was perhaps the most invigorating of the fairs, thanks to the experimental edge of the work on view and the breadth of galleries from countries around the world that participate. You could find art here made from every imaginable material, from buttons, bows, disused drawing boards, bottles, and paper to discarded hairpins to shelves. This left you with a sense that art lies dormant in any object, no matter how ordinary, dysfunctional, or unappealing, which is an uplifting idea, given the state of the world and the economy. 

Due to the majority of artists showing at this fair being young, it offered a glimpse into the interests and concerns of the next generation of artists. The sense of working with the disused and valuing the valueless recurred and was encapsulated in a simple but effective installation of paper grids that held small mementoes picked up from the street by Aurora Arazzi, presented by Sangheeut Seoul Gallery. 

Another recurring theme in the paintings was what could be termed hyperreal fakery. Think of paintings of discarded paper rendered in a hyperreal mode, such as those by Maximillian Arnold at Matta Gallery. The impact of AI is shaping painting – as it would. The two Africa-based galleries participating in this fair, Addis Fine Art (Ethiopia) and Afriart Gallery (Uganda), didn't exactly turn my head with their selections - perhaps because I have seen the artists’ work before — but it did have me wondering whether African artists are pushing boundaries in the same way as their contemporaries elsewhere in the world. I don't think they are. Has art become too market-driven, or are our fine art departments advancing stale ideas and approaches to art-making? 

Asemahle Ntlonti, artwork at Blank Projects.

Ultimately, travelling to the centre of the art world should leave you with some troubling questions and inspiration to pursue in your own small bubble.

Mary Corrigall is an award-winning art commentator, consultant and director of the Heat Winter Arts Festival