As the global art world descends upon Basel for its annual pilgrimage, the sheer volume of visual information can be overwhelming. While the blue-chip heavyweights command the halls of Messeplatz, the true pulse of contemporary art’s future is often found a short distance away at Liste Art Fair. Celebrating its 2026 edition with 106 galleries from 36 countries, Liste remains the premier incubator for emerging talent and radical new practices .
This year, the fair feels particularly urgent. The presentations lean heavily into solo and duo booths, allowing for deep, immersive encounters rather than fleeting glimpses. Walking through Hall 1.1, I found myself repeatedly drawn to works that grapple with memory, material resilience, and the quiet subversion of established narratives.
Here are the five works from Liste 2026 that have stayed with me long after leaving the booth.
1. Amel Bashier at Addis Fine Art (Addis Ababa)
Amel Bashier, Factory Woman, 2026. Source: liste.ch
Sudanese artist Amel Bashier, now based in Paris, presents a body of work that feels both deeply intimate and historically monumental. Rendered in meticulous pen-and-ink and pointillist technique, Factory Woman is a striking meditation on female labour, resilience, and the quiet rituals that sustain societies through conflict and displacement .
What makes this work so compelling is its tension between the delicate, almost fragile application of the pointillist dots and the undeniable strength of the central figure. Bashier draws heavily on Nubian history and the strength of her ancestors, creating a visual language that feels entirely her own. In a fair often dominated by loud, conceptual gestures, Bashier’s quiet, painstaking dedication to the image demands—and rewards—slow looking.
2. Yuji Akatsuka at Hagiwara Projects (Tokyo)
Yuji Akatsuka, Route41924, 2024. Source: artviewer.org
Japanese painter Yuji Akatsuka (b. 1955) brings a masterclass in spatial abstraction to Liste. His paintings develop through a conscious act of transforming fragments of reality and perception into new pictorial forms . Route41924 is a prime example of his ability to create expansive compositions where colour and form seem to breathe on the canvas.
The work operates on a generative impulse—it feels as though the painting is continually renewing itself before your eyes. Akatsuka’s deep trust in the materiality of paint and his exploration of spatial possibilities create a viewing experience that is profoundly meditative. It is a reminder that abstraction, when handled with this level of maturity and intent, remains one of the most potent tools for translating the complexities of the world.
3. Marilyn Boror Bor at Galería Extra (Guatemala City)
Marilyn Boror Bor, Rituales enterrados: peinando las raíces, 2025. Source: extragaleria.com
Maya-Kaqchikel artist Marilyn Boror Bor’s presentation with Galería Extra is one of the most politically and materially resonant booths at the fair. Her practice explores Indigenous identity, historical memory, and the fractures produced by extractivist logics in Guatemala .
Rituales enterrados weaves textile thinking with ancestral memory. The work functions as a symbolic territory, using physical materials to map the erasure and resistance of Indigenous landscapes. Boror Bor’s ability to translate complex colonial histories into tactile, poetic forms is extraordinary. It is a work that does not shout its politics but rather embeds them deeply into the very fibres of its construction.
4. Fiker Solomon at Afriart Gallery (Kampala)
Fiker Solomon, Transformation – jute, yarns and raffia, 250 × 220 cm, 2025. Source: afriartgallery.org
Ethiopian textile artist Fiker Solomon, currently based in Kampala, uses jute yarns and palm leaves to investigate how place is felt, remembered, and reimagined . Transformation is a sprawling, organic tapestry that maps the quiet interplay between ecological systems and emotional landscapes.
Solomon prioritises intuitive and relational ways of knowing over fixed, cartographic frameworks. The result is a work that feels alive—a decolonial understanding of geography that maps sensory experience rather than borders. The tactile richness of the jute and palm leaf draws the viewer in, offering a profound meditation on our embodied relationship to the natural environment.
5. Alfredo Aceto at Hua International (Beijing/Berlin)
Alfredo Aceto, Trap, 2025. Source: liste.ch
Italian-born, Swiss-based artist Alfredo Aceto presents a fascinating dialogue on the signifiers of masculinity and local cultural codes . His sculptural work Trap operates in the space between fiction and reality, manipulating time and biography to create an environment that feels both familiar and deeply unsettling.
Aceto’s practice often involves the fragmentation of the body and the subversion of expected forms. Trap is sleek, enigmatic, and loaded with allegorical weight. It is a work that asks more questions than it answers, perfectly encapsulating the spirit of discovery and intellectual provocation that defines Liste at its best.
Explore Further
To dive deeper into the galleries and artists shaping the future of contemporary art, explore their profiles and upcoming exhibitions on the Art United directory:
FAQ
What is Liste Art Fair?
Liste Art Fair Basel is a premier international fair dedicated to discovering emerging contemporary artists and young galleries. It runs concurrently with Art Basel every June.
Where does Liste 2026 take place?
The 2026 edition takes place from 15 to 21 June in Hall 1.1 at Messe Basel, Switzerland.
How many galleries participate in Liste?
The 2026 edition features 106 galleries from 36 countries, including 41 first-time participants.
Why is Liste important for collectors?
Liste is widely considered the most important incubator for new talent, offering collectors the opportunity to discover and acquire works by artists before they reach the blue-chip secondary market.
References
[1] Liste Art Fair Basel. “Edition – 2026.” Liste.ch.
[2] Addis Fine Art. “Amel Bashier at Liste 2026.” Liste.ch.
[3] Hagiwara Projects. “Yuji Akatsuka at Liste 2026.” Liste.ch.
[4] Galería Extra. “Marilyn Boror Bor at Liste 2026.” Liste.ch.
[5] Afriart Gallery. “Fiker Solomon at Liste 2026.” Liste.ch.
[6] Hua International. “Alfredo Aceto at Liste 2026.” Liste.ch.
