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trending_up market calendar_today Friday, June 19, 2026

Art Basel Bets on Digital Art As Medium for Future Generations

Summarized from outside reporting. This is an AI-assisted Vasari Codex summary that cites and links to the source coverage below. For corrections, rights concerns, or takedown requests, use the content concern form or email support@vasari.art.

Art Basel, the world's largest art fair, is embracing digital art with a new exhibition called Zero 10, which debuted in Miami last December and is now appearing in Basel for the first time. The exhibition, located across the street from the main fair, features works ranging from screen-based pieces and videos to paintings created with Photoshop, coding, and AI. CEO Noah Horowitz sees digital art as a natural bet for the future, appealing to a younger generation raised on screens. Sales of digital art reached 3% of global art sales in 2025, up from 1% in 2024, according to the Art Basel & UBS Global Art Market Report 2026. French artist William Mapan, whose coded paintings sold out within an hour of the opening, exemplifies the growing market interest from millennials, Gen Z buyers, seasoned collectors, and institutions.

This shift matters because it signals a significant evolution in the art market, where digital art is moving from a niche curiosity to a serious collecting category. The involvement of major galleries and the creation of dedicated exhibition spaces like Zero 10 indicate that the art world is investing in the long-term viability of digital works, despite concerns about technological obsolescence. Galleries like Fellowship are already addressing conservation issues, with collectors receiving detailed specifications to ensure works can be preserved indefinitely. As digital art gains legitimacy and market share, it is reshaping what it means to collect and experience art, particularly for a generation that communicates through screens and code.