Zurich occupies a distinctive position in the European art market. Though less frequently cited than London, Paris, or even its Swiss neighbour Basel when the art world's geography is discussed, the city has steadily consolidated a gallery infrastructure that operates with considerable seriousness and range. Its dual identity as a global financial centre and the birthplace of Dada has produced a collector base comfortable with both established modernism and formally demanding contemporary practice, and the galleries that serve that base reflect those priorities.
The city counts over one hundred commercial galleries, ranging from international blue-chip operators to spaces occupying project-scale premises. The Löwenbräukunst complex in Zurich-West — a former brewery in the district of Escher Wyss, at Limmatstrasse 270 — functions as something of an institutional anchor, housing several of the most prominent commercial galleries alongside non-profit institutions and publishing ventures. A second concentration of gallery activity has emerged around the Maag Areal, also in Zurich-West, and a further cluster occupies the historic centre around Rämistrasse. The result is a city where a focused gallery tour can be conducted on foot across these distinct zones, each with its own character and density.
The commercial calendar is organised in part around Zurich Art Weekend, which takes place in June and draws galleries citywide into a coordinated programme. Art International Zurich, the city's contemporary art fair, presents its 28th edition from 8 to 10 May 2026 at the Puls 5 foundry hall, with 54 exhibitors from 25 countries participating. These events provide useful points of professional engagement, though the city's galleries conduct substantial business and mount significant exhibitions throughout the year.
Key Private Galleries
Hauser & Wirth Zurich
Founded in 1992 by Iwan Wirth, Manuela Wirth, and Ursula Hauser, Hauser & Wirth was established in Zurich before becoming the international enterprise it is today. The Zurich presence spans two locations: the primary space within the Löwenbräukunst complex at Limmatstrasse 270, and a secondary space on Bahnhofstrasse. The Limmatstrasse gallery occupies a substantial footprint within the former brewery complex, with two dedicated exhibition spaces and a books area. Entry to exhibitions is free and no advance booking is required.
The Zurich gallery opened 2026 with 'Koo Jeong A: KANGSE X', running from 22 January to 16 May 2026 — an exhibition presenting new sculptures, recent paintings, and drawings by the Korean artist. The show features site-specific reconfigurations that incorporate natural elements including wind, gravity, and electromagnetic fields, extending the artist's longstanding engagement with invisible forces and perceptual phenomena.
Hauser & Wirth participates regularly in Art Basel and maintains an active secondary market presence. The Zurich gallery has previously hosted exhibitions by Philip Guston, Fischli & Weiss, Anna Maria Maiolino, and numerous other artists of institutional standing.
Website: https://www.hauserwirth.com
Galerie Eva Presenhuber
Galerie Eva Presenhuber is among the most internationally visible of Zurich's privately owned galleries. Founded by Eva Presenhuber, who had previously directed Galerie Walcheturm — a non-profit space where she championed artists including Fischli & Weiss, Ugo Rondinone, Sue Williams, and Douglas Gordon — the gallery opened under its current name in October 2003 with a Verne Dawson exhibition. Presenhuber was named in The Guardian's 'Movers and Makers: the most powerful people in the art world' in 2014 and has served on the selection committees of Liste, Art Basel, and Frieze Art Fair. She also co-founded the Liste satellite fair in 1996 alongside Peter Kilchmann.
The gallery operates from two locations in Zurich. The main space is at Zahnradstrasse 21 in the Maag Areal (CH-8005 Zurich), housed in a preserved industrial building from the early twentieth century, and open Tuesday to Friday 11am to 6pm. A second space at Waldmannstrasse 6 in the historic centre (CH-8001 Zurich) keeps similar hours, with Saturday opening from 11am to 5pm. A Vienna space at Lichtenfelsgasse 5 extends the gallery's reach.
The 2026 Zurich exhibition programme opened with 'Verne Dawson: Hamlet's Mill', running from 23 January to 14 March 2026 at the Waldmannstrasse space — an exhibition that revisits Dawson's sustained engagement with mythological and ecological themes. At the Maag Areal, 'Valentin Carron: The Slope (Works 2005–2026)' opened 27 February and runs through 30 April 2026 (with some sources noting the run extends to July 2026 at this location), presenting two decades of work by the Swiss artist.
Works available from the gallery include a 2007 oil on canvas by Verne Dawson, 'Atomic Bomb' (213 × 183 × 5.5 cm), and 2025 pigment on canvas works by Sam Falls, among others currently listed for sale. Pricing for works is available on request.
Website: https://www.presenhuber.com
Galerie Gmurzynska
Galerie Gmurzynska is among the most historically rooted gallery operations based in Zurich, having been founded in Cologne in 1965 by the Polish-born Antonina Gmurzynska, and run by women across three generations. Krystyna Gmurzynska and Mathias Rastorfer relocated the gallery from Cologne to Zurich's Paradeplatz in 2005, occupying a building on the same block where the Dada movement mounted its first exhibition at the Galerie Dada in 1917. The gallery's interiors feature the final exhibition architecture designed by Zaha Hadid, conceived for the Dada centennial in 2016 and completed posthumously with Patrik Schumacher and the Zaha Hadid Architects team.
The gallery specialises in classic modern art and the Russian avant-garde, and maintains four locations: Paradeplatz 2 and Talstrasse 37 in Zurich (the Talstrasse space opened in June 2017), as well as Zug and New York (Galerie Gmurzynska US Inc., at 39 East 78th Street). The Zurich Paradeplatz location is open Monday to Friday 10am to 6.30pm, and Saturday 10am to 4pm.
The gallery's programme has included solo exhibitions of Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Kurt Schwitters, Donald Judd paired with Kazimir Malevich, and Sylvester Stallone (whose work was concurrently shown at the Museum of Modern Art in Nice in 2015). The gallery also works with the estates of Yves Klein, Wifredo Lam, Louise Nevelson, and Robert Indiana, and represents artists including Fernando Botero, Karl Lagerfeld, and Richard Meier. The gallery has published close to 300 art historical catalogues and catalogues raisonnés in collaboration with scholars and foundations worldwide.
Website: https://www.gmurzynska.com
Galerie Urs Meile
Galerie Urs Meile occupies a particular position in the Zurich landscape by reason of its longstanding engagement with contemporary art from China and its role in facilitating exchange between European and Chinese art contexts. The gallery has recently made Zurich its headquarters, complementing existing spaces in Beijing and Ardez (in the Swiss canton of Graubünden). It operates from two Zurich addresses: Rämistrasse 33 (CH-8001) and Ankerstrasse 3 (CH-8004).
In early 2026, the gallery is presenting two concurrent exhibitions. 'Wiedemann/Mettler: Narratief' runs at the Rämistrasse location from 22 January to 21 March 2026, an exhibition dedicated to the Swiss artist duo Wiedemann/Mettler and their ongoing exploration of narrative painting structures. Simultaneously, the Ankerstrasse space hosts 'Anker Protocol – 2.0: A Place of Concealment', a group exhibition running from 5 February to 2 April 2026.
Website: https://www.galerieursmeile.com
Galerie Peter Kilchmann
Galerie Peter Kilchmann was established in 1992 when Peter Kilchmann opened his first space in an abandoned factory in Zurich's western district, becoming part of a small collective of young gallerists who at the time were venturing into what was a comparatively raw part of the city. He was a co-initiator of the Liste art fair in 1996, alongside Eva Presenhuber and others, and the gallery has since grown into an internationally operating enterprise representing artists from Switzerland, Europe, the United States, and Latin America.
The gallery's guiding principle — that art should be politically relevant — has shaped a programme that regularly features artists who engage with non-Western perspectives, social inequality, migration, and formal experimentation across media. The gallery now operates from two Zurich locations (Zahnradstrasse 21 in the Maag Areal, and Rämistrasse in the city centre) and maintains a Paris space at 11-13 Rue des Arquebusiers.
Recent and upcoming exhibitions include 'Matthias Odin: Rue de Paris' in the Project Space, running 10 January to 27 February 2026. The gallery has also announced forthcoming solo exhibitions devoted to Melanie Smith (her sixth with the gallery) and to Indian artist Amol K. Patil, whose first solo exhibition in Switzerland is described as bringing together sculpture, painting, drawing, video, and immersive installation. Shirana Shahbazi was awarded the Société des Arts de Genève Prize 2025, an honour the gallery publicly acknowledged.
Website: https://www.peterkilchmann.com
Mai 36 Galerie
Mai 36 Galerie was founded in 1987 by Victor Gisler, with its inaugural exhibition held the following year with artist Les Levine at the gallery's original location on Maihofstrasse 36 in Lucerne — a street address from which the name derives. The gallery relocated to Zurich in 1992, and since 1996 has operated from a three-storey historic townhouse at Rämistrasse 37 in the centre of Zurich's gallery district. A Madrid branch opened in March 2024, extending the gallery's European reach.
The gallery's programme is grounded in the legacy of conceptual, minimal, and pop practices that emerged after 1945, and it works with three generations of artists within that lineage. Long-standing relationships include those with John Baldessari, Stephan Balkenhol, Troy Brauntuch, Pia Fries, Matt Mullican, Thomas Ruff, Lawrence Weiner, and Rémy Zaugg. The gallery also represents the estates of Luigi Ghirri, Peter Hujar, General Idea, Robert Mapplethorpe, Paul Thek, Irma Blank, and Daan Van Golden. Emerging artists brought into the programme in recent years include Jorge Méndez Blake, Poppy Jones, Magali Reus, Michel Pérez Pollo, Markus Saile, and Jacopo Benassi.
In 2026 the gallery is presenting a dual exhibition: 'Jack Warne: Where Love Appears' and 'Kentaro Kawabata: By Heart', both running from 23 January to 28 March 2026. Jack Warne's show features works including ultra-violet prints on composited material with augmented reality filters and audio, and Kawabata contributes porcelain and glass works.
Website: https://www.mai36.com
Galerie Francesca Pia
Galerie Francesca Pia was founded in Bern in 1990 (or 1991, depending on the source) by Francesca Pia, who grew up in Worb in Canton Berne and developed her art world formation during the distinguished era of the Kunsthalle Bern. Pia built a reputation for working with artists at the mid-career stage — those with substantial bodies of work who had not yet reached canonical status — and championed figures including Betty Woodman, Thomas Hirschhorn, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Mai-Thu Perret, and Wade Guyton from her Berne base. In 2007 she relocated the gallery to Zurich, opening her first show in the city with work by Geneva artist Vidya Gastaldon, and the gallery has occupied space within the Löwenbräukunst complex at Limmatstrasse 268.
The gallery's website notes that its presence in Zurich continued until 2025, which may indicate a change of premises or operational structure. Visitors and professionals seeking current information are encouraged to contact the gallery directly or consult its online presence for the most recent details.
Website: https://www.francescapia.com
Fabienne Levy
Fabienne Levy is a contemporary art gallery based across three Swiss cities: Lausanne (Avenue Louis-Ruchonnet 6, 1003 Lausanne), Geneva, and Zurich. The gallery's programming engages with international contemporary artists across painting, sculpture, and photography. Artists represented include Anjesa Dellova, whose oil on canvas works are listed for sale through the gallery (with Dellova's 'La déçue de la vie', 2025, oil on canvas, 55 × 45 cm, having sold), as well as sculptor Séverin Guelpa, whose 'DANCING WITH THE SKY' (2025), a stone-and-mirrored work of 240 × 70 × 80 cm, is available for acquisition.
The Zurich programme in early 2026 included 'Anna Fasshauer: DONE!', running from 12 December 2025 to 28 February 2026. The gallery is participating in Art Forum Baloise Park, Basel, with a group show that runs from 10 November 2025 to 22 May 2026.
Website: https://www.fabiennelevy.com
Karma International
Karma International operates from two addresses within the Zurich district of Wiedikon: Weststrasse 70 and Weststrasse 75 (CH-8003). The gallery is open Wednesday to Friday noon to 6pm, and Saturday noon to 4pm. It participates in Zurich Art Weekend and has been cited among the galleries contributing to the city's contemporary art profile, though it works at a more modest scale than the larger international operators in the Löwenbräukunst cluster.
Website: https://www.karmainternational.ch
Kate Vass Galerie
Kate Vass Galerie is a Zurich-based gallery with a specific programmatic focus on digital and blockchain-based art, positioning itself as a bridge between traditional gallery practice and the expanding field of on-chain and computationally generated work. The gallery has engaged with VR, AR, and AI-based practices alongside more established digital media. It has been noted in reviews of Art Basel Miami Beach's digital sections, and gallery director Kate Vass has written on the subject of institutional frameworks for digital art. The gallery presented a show called 'Milestones' at the AB Gallery in Marfa during the 2025 Marfa Weekend.
Website: https://www.katevassgalerie.com
The Broader Context
Zurich's gallery landscape is supported by a dense institutional infrastructure that shapes demand and provides critical context. The Kunsthaus Zürich — recently expanded and one of the largest art museums in Switzerland — is presenting 'In Transition: The Bührle Collection' from 20 March 2026, a transitional display of selected works from the disputed collection while a new main presentation is prepared for 2027. Museum Haus Konstruktiv, occupying the historic ewz-Unterwerk Selnau building on Selnaustrasse, provides an institutional home for constructivist and concrete art traditions, while the Kunsthalle Zürich within the Löwenbräukunst complex mounts six to ten exhibitions annually from a non-commercial position.
The collector base is shaped in part by Zurich's standing as one of the five leading financial centres in the world. While precise sales figures for private gallery transactions are rarely disclosed — this is as true in Zurich as anywhere — the presence of multiple blue-chip galleries with active Art Basel participation, combined with a documented secondary market interest in artists including Franz West, Ugo Rondinone, and Fischli & Weiss, suggests a sustained level of market activity at the upper end. Galerie Eva Presenhuber's Franz West holdings alone — works ranging from early lacquer and plaster pieces through his distinctive Adaptives — represent a body of material of significant institutional and market interest, with works from the gallery available on request.
For professionals visiting Zurich, the areas of Zurich-West (particularly around Maag Areal and Löwenbräukunst) and the Rämistrasse gallery district in the city centre offer the densest concentration of spaces. The Art International Zurich fair, running 8 to 10 May 2026 at the Puls 5 foundry hall (a ten-minute journey from Zurich Main Station), provides a broader view of the market beyond the established gallery roster, with exhibitors attending from across Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa.
March 2026
