A Tense Dialogue Between Local and Global Voices
ART INTERNATIONAL ZURICH 2026 (8–10 May, Giessereihalle Puls 5) confirmed its reputation as Switzerland's unmissable contemporary art fair. With fifty-four participants from around twenty-five countries, two-thirds of whom were based in Switzerland, alongside galleries from Europe, North America, and Asia, including Canada, the USA, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, a charged dialogue was created between local perspectives and global voices.
Strong visitor turnout — a platform for emerging and established artists.
The programme spanned media and scale, with paintings and sculptures displayed alongside photography, object art, digital works, and ambitious site-specific installations. The exhibits addressed timely themes such as cultural roots and identity, globalisation and digitalisation, and pressing social issues, allowing visitors to directly compare diverse aesthetic strategies and narrative forms.
The historic Puls 5 foundry hall was an ideal choice of venue, amplifying the fair's impact. Its industrial architecture and expansive halls offered flexible settings that showcased both established galleries and emerging artists, and curators balanced intimate, narrative presentations with large-scale, conceptual projects tailored to the venue.
Education and exchange were at the heart of the event: solo shows, panel discussions and on-site conversations gave artists a platform to discuss their work and inspiration, adding depth to the presentations and encouraging discussion about interpretation, collecting and contemporary theory. These encounters strengthened networks and broadened perspectives within the art community.
By blending strong regional roots with clear international connections, ART INTERNATIONAL ZURICH delivered a multifaceted experience of discovery, professional exchange and aesthetic stimulation, and reinforced its role as a driving force in the Swiss art scene.
Paintings, sculptures, photographs, digital art and site-specific installations across media.