Art Basel, the world’s biggest art fair, is opening its door to digital art this year with a new showcase called “Zero 10,” betting the market is poised to grow. The exhibit is set across the street from the fair’s usual paintings and sculptures and is making its first appearance at Art Basel after debuting in Miami in December. Digital art can include works shown on screens and in video, or images created with computer tools such as Photoshop, coding and even artificial intelligence.
Art Basel chief executive Noah Horowitz said the move reflects a natural shift toward the tastes of younger buyers who have grown up with screens. “A lot of what this generation is going to be attracted to collecting and buying are objects and things that speak that language,” he told Reuters. The fair’s 2026 Global Art Market Report says digital art accounted for just 3% of global art sales last year, up from 1% in 2024, in a market estimated at $59.6 billion.
UBS art adviser Eric Landolt said the rise is not limited to millennials and Generation Z, but is also drawing established collectors and institutions. French artist William Mapan, who spent two years creating works through meticulous coding, said no one showed interest during the first decade of his career, but his pieces sold out within the first hour when the show opened on Tuesday.
Mapan said coding and painting are not separate worlds. “It’s just a language, painting is a language, coding is a language, and you can create a third language in between,” he said. Even so, there are concerns about the long-term survival of digital works as technology changes. Landolt asked, “Maybe you have digital formats that exist now, but how do you make sure they will work in the future?”
Alejandro Cartagena, co-founder of the Fellowship gallery, said such risks are built into the process. His gallery sold a John Gerrard digital artwork for $500,000 at “Zero 10,” and he said collectors receive detailed instructions for preserving the works. “We are very committed to preserving the works,” he said.
