REDAZIONE| ROME, 30 JANUARY 2026

The engine of the art industry is restarting with significant international exhibitions and auctions. This will be an important year to understand how geopolitical upheavals may affect art promoters and artists.
Major art fairs are no longer just containers for dealer booths. Today, they increasingly aim to guide both the market and artistic creation. Interactions with finance, often directly linked to states and powers, can lead to attempts to impose ideas and paradigms that hinder free creativity.

(Art Basel Quatar)

Qatar Sports Investments has made very significant investments in Art Basel, perhaps the most important art fair in the world. QSI makes strategic investments focused on world-class assets in the fields of sports, entertainment, lifestyle, and culture. Among its many holdings, it also owns the football team Paris Saint-Germain, the Belgian team KAS Eupen, and has shares in Sporting Club de Braga. The organization, under the control of the Qatar government based in Doha, together with the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority and the Qatar Foundation, manages Qatari wealth derived from gas. QSI aims to integrate art into Qatar’s “National Vision 2030.”

From February 5 to 7, Art Basel Doha Qatar will host 87 selected galleries. Over half of the artists come from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. This year’s edition introduces a new format that moves away from the traditional booth model and is based on “artistic vision and conceptual rigor.” The fair’s management indicates a theme that serves as a reference point and catalyst. This year, the theme is “Becoming.” Art must act as a force that stimulates the continuous definition of activity. Special emphasis is placed on the MENA region and on the importance of the Gulf and Doha as an artistic hub for the area.

In Switzerland, from February 4 to 8, Art Genève will take place. The music section presents sound works with installations and performances.
In India, from February 5 to 8, India Art Fair in New Delhi. The fair is ideal for those wishing to deepen their knowledge of Indian culture.
In Mexico, from February 6 to 7, Zona Maco in Mexico City. It is the largest and most important fair in Latin America.
In Morocco, from February 7 to 8, Contemporary African Art Fair in Marrakech. The fair, held at the iconic Hotel La Mamounia, is dedicated to African art and its diaspora.

(Affordable Art Fair Brussels)

While major fairs celebrate the multi-million results achieved by the sale of market-glorified works, the Affordable Art Fair limits prices to €10,000. These are international contemporary art fairs held in the USA, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. They are present in 11 countries with 280,000 visitors and with the mission to “democratize the art world by helping people learn about and love art.” Beyond the exhibition of artworks, the fairs host conferences, artist-led workshops, and art activities for children. For full-day experiences, there are restaurants, bars, and live music. In 2026, the Affordable Art Fair celebrates its 27th anniversary.

In Belgium, from February 4 to 8, Affordable Art Fair Brussels will present 85 Belgian and international galleries showcasing both established and emerging artists.

Auction houses are beginning to present important works. We are aware of the peak values that contemporary art can reach, as well as the more contained values of ancient art. In New York next week, several masterpieces by Italian Old Masters that could be repatriated will be auctioned.

Christie’s, February 4 in New York, will hold the “Old Masters” auction.

Lot 16: Artemisia Gentileschi (Rome 1593 – after 1654 Naples), Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, oil on panel, 32.3 x 24.6 cm, estimate $2,500,000 – $3,500,000.

Lot 23: Alessandro Filipepi, known as Sandro Botticelli (Florence 1445-1510) and workshop, Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John, tempera and oil on panel, 89.8 x 72.7 cm, estimate $4,000,000 – $6,000,000

Old Master Painting and Sculpture Part II

Lot 194: Luca Giordano (Naples 1634 – 1705), Rebecca at the Well, oil on canvas, 118.4 x 118.4 cm, estimate $20,000 – $30,000

Sotheby’s, February 5 in New York, will hold the “Paintings and Works of Art by Old Masters” auction.

Antonello da Messina (c. 1430 – 1479), Ecce Homo, Saint Jerome in Penitence, oil tempera on panel, double-sided panel, 20.3 x 14.9 cm, estimate $10,000,000 – $15,000,000

• https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/master-works-on-paper-from-five-centuries/young-lion-resting
• https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6571041?ldp_breadcrumb=back
• https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6571048?ldp_breadcrumb=back
• https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6571023?ldp_breadcrumb=back
• https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/master-paintings-sculpture-part-i/ecce-homo-saint-jerome-in-penitence?locale=it