ARTISTS
Guide to Art Basel 2014
The fair of all fairs which leads the art world, Art Basel, opens this week in Switzerland, igniting a series of smaller fairs and other art events within a fifty-mile radius surrounding the city. From satellite fairs to special exhibitions in nearby cities, once a year all eyes in the art world focus on the intersection of Switzerland, Germany and France. The original Art Basel fair has the power to command the attention of...
Lori Zimmer / 黑料不打烊
18 Jun, 2014
Outside Art Basel, 2014.
The fair of all fairs which leads the art world, Art Basel, opens this week in Switzerland, igniting a series of smaller fairs and other art events within a fifty-mile radius surrounding the city. From satellite fairs to special exhibitions in nearby cities, once a year all eyes in the art world focus on the intersection of Switzerland, Germany and France. The original Art Basel fair has the power to command the attention of collectors, artists and curators the world over, while those unable to attend religiously follow the event online to find out about fair happenings, gossip, new art, and Basel’s tastemaking trends.
Installation shot, Haegue Yang at Art Basel, 2014. Courtesy of Art Basel.
This week, the fair’s eight sectors bleed out of the convention center and into the fabric of Basel itself, in both drawing the culture of international collectors, artists and curators out into the city, but also literally with “Parcours,” a sector that will install 15 site-specific works by big name artists along the Rheingasse in Kleinbasel. Curated for the second year by Florence Derieux, Parcours will feature works by artists such as Francesco Arena, Chris Burden, Ryan Gander, and one-off performances by Guido van der Werve and Mario Garcia Torres, using the city as exhibition and performance space and bringing the fair outside. Oversized works continue inside in the “Unlimited” sector, where 70 large-scale paintings, video projections and performances change visitors’ perspectives. One highlight is a collection of boldly colored vertical works by Alice Channer, that seem to rise up from the floor and reach up to the ceiling, giving the stoic digital prints the illusion of movement.
Chris Burden, Holmby Hills Light Folly, 2012. Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery for "Parcours," Art Basel.
Ryan Gander, Make Everything like it’s your Last, 2013. Courtesy of Lisson Gallery.
One of the most exciting features of the fair is “14 Rooms,” an immersive art experience curated by two of the most respected men in art – MoMA curator Hans-Ulrich Obrist and MoMA PS1 Director Klaus Biesenbach. As the name suggests, the live art event will spread across 14 rooms, asking artists such as Marina Abramovic, Damien Hirst, Bruce Nauman and Yoko Ono to activate their assigned room, creating installations that explore the relationship between space, time, and the performance art concept of a human being as being part of the material used to create an art work. This museum caliber exhibition will immerse visitors into performative and interactive art.
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Damien Hirst, Leonard & Raphael Kadid, 2014. Courtesy of the artist and Science Ltd.
Jordan Wolfson, (Female Figure), 2014. Courtesy of David Zwirner Gallery.
As always, Basel’s gallery line up brings the leading international galleries presenting Modern work to contemporary artists under one roof. The emerging galleries in “Statements” will be given special attention this year, now located in Hall 2 next to the more seasoned Galleries sector. Statements shows solo presentations by artists such as a multi-channel video installation by Trisha Baga (showing with Societe out of Berlin) made especially for the show, and David Brooks, whose installation Lonely Loricariidae explores the export of endangered tropical fish from the Amazon, presented by American Contemporary from New York. The “Feature” sector, which always shows tightly curated projects, is showing 15 new galleries of their 24 presentations, including Berlin’s KOW gallery with never exhibited before early works by minimalist Santiago Sierra. “Galleries” once again this year gathers 232 of the world’s best galleries, with some new faces that have “graduated” from “Statements” or “Feature,” such as A Gentil Carioca out of Rio de Janeiro and Berlin’s Tanya Leighton.
Trisha Baga, Parrotfish, 2013. Courtesy of Société.
Santiago Sierra, Mountains, 1990. Courtesy of KOW.
As if this year’s fair was not enough to overwhelm even the biggest of art enthusiasts, there are a slew of not-to-miss Basel alternatives to round out the week.
Markthalle, Viaduktstrasse 10, Basel, Switzerland
June 16-21
Hamish Fulton, Exiled Potala- Walking One Circuit of the Potala Kora, 2007. Courtesy of VOLTA10.
VOLTA returns as Basel’s smart little sister to the site of VOLTA 2009, the historic Markthalle. 68 exhibitors including DCKT Contemporary, Honor Fraser, The Hole, Michael Janssen, Pierogi and Spinello Projects will bring innovative new and emerging artists in one or two-person exhibitions in their booths. This year’s specially commissioned limited edition print is by Hamish Fulton, and is available at the fair.
Hall 1 Sud, Messe Basel, Messeplatz, Basel, Switzerland
June 17-22
Dominic Harris, Ice Angel, 2013. Courtesy of Priveekollektie and Design Miami/Basel.
Adjacent to the big fair, Design Miami fulfills any collector’s thirst for important design culture to coincide with the week of fine art. New to the fair is “Design At Large,” a forum for exception large scale design installations, this year curated by Dennis Freedman. Freedman has chosen 6 desingers – Chris Kabel, Eske Rex, Jean Benjamin Maneval, Dominic Harris, Demsich Danant and Anton Alvarez, who together will present larger-than-life pieces at the fair. This year’s themes have inspired dealers to bring in work that explores ancient materials, exchange between East and West, as well as between sculpture and design, and the presentation of works with extraordinary provenance.
Uferstrasse 40, Basel, Switzerland
June 17-22
Lello//Arnell, Apophenia 1, 2013. Courtesy of Scope Art Show.
SCOPE returns for its 8th year back to its location in the arts district of Klybeckquai, with 75 International Exhibitors, 20 Breeder Program Galleries, pop up bars, restaurants and a large-scale presentation of Jean Tinguely’s musical performance, Cyclope. This year’s fair will be accessible by a special SCOPE tram, and feature special projects by the ever-fascinating Invisible Heroes, as well as Stefan Waibel, and a collaboration with Kunstkuebal that will encourage a clean city by transforming trash bins into miniature art installations.
Burgweg 15, Basel, Switzerland
June 17-21
Visitors enjoying Liste Art Fair. Courtesy of Liste Art Fair.
Since 1996, Liste has fostered young artists and young galleries, giving them an opportunity to present alongside the big fairs. 78 galleries are joined by Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, which showcases experimental Swiss art, House of Electronic Arts Basel, which fuses art, technology and media, and Kaskadenkondensator, which brings international context to the regional scene. This year renowned young galleries such as 47 Canal, Peres Projects, Wall Space and 80m2 will fill out the carefully curated roster.
St. Jakobshalle, Bruglingerstrasse 19-21, Basel, Switzerland
June 18-22
Mara Klaus, Target, 2014. Courtesy of The Solo Project.
Created by Paul Kusseneers Gallery out of Brussels, The Solo Project has invited a roster of galleries to present one artist, in an exhibition meant to feel more like gallery hopping than an art fair, presenting leading artists in a more in-depth experience. Now an important satellite fair in its 7th run, visitors can hop on the free shuttle bus from the main fair that takes guests around important Art Basel week highlights.
Baselstrasse 101, Rihen/Basel.
Gerhard Richter, Reader, 1994. Courtesy of Fondation Beyeler.
The respected Basel museum staple will stay open extra late during Art Basel week to allure visitors to their world class collection. A sponsor of Art Basel’s 14 Rooms sector, Fondation Beyeler is also presenting a solo exhibition by Gerhard Richter, as well as an artist talks with John Armleder and Hans Ulrich Obrist on June 19 at 5:30pm and Peter Doig in conversation with Ulf Küster on June 20 at 5pm.
Baur Au Lac, Talstrasse1, Zurich
June 15- July 24
Yves Klein installation at Baur au Lac, 2014. Courtesy of Baur au Lac Hotel.
Each year, the historic elegant hotel exhibits a grandiose sculptural program by a world renowned artist, with past exhibitions by the likes of Richard Serra, Louise Bourgeois and Joan Miro. This year’s exhibition celebrates the late Yves Klein, and realizes a project Klein had planned but not executed before his death. The exhibition’s curator, Gigi Kracht, worked closely with Klein’s widow and Galerie Gmurzynska to create 30 Venus of Alexandrie in signature Yves Klein blue.
Colab Gallery, Schusterinsel 9, Weil am Rhein, Germany
June 14- October 1
Logan Hicks installation at Colab Gallery, 2014. Courtesy of the artist.
The gallery in nearby Weil am Rhein is reminiscent of an art fair, its sprawling interior large enough to allow each artist in the international group show to have their own booth-style display. The exhibition, which involves Logan Hicks, Sobekcis, Dome, Sebas Velasco, Laurence Vallieres, Snik, 1010, Roman Klonek and Egs, hovers above a large Carhartt store, combining art with retail, while providing an extraordinarily large venue for contemporary arts.
