1. Lucas Arruda, Untitled (from the Desert-Modelo series), 2023, Courtesy
of the artist and Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo, Brussels and New York
Basel Art Week - Decoding new trends
while keeping the classics
For a week, between the 12th and the 19th of June, the City of Basel (Switzerland) becomes the secondary house of collectors, art enthusiast and art lovers due to the numerous fairs presents in the messe (the convention center) and all around the city. Of course, you might think about Art Basel, the biggest art fair in the world attracting more or less then 90 000 visitors a year, but there is also Unlimited, LISTE, Photo Basel, etc.
The story
Before the start of Art Basel in the 70s, Art Cologne (also known as the Kunstmarkt Köln) was the place of reunion of art collectors looking to purchase contemporary art of high quality. While the fair opened in 1967, the fair started to invite important galleries from Europe and all around the world.
One of the visitors of these first editions was the Swiss dealers Trudi Bruckner, Balz Hilt, and Ernst Beyeler. In respond to this fair, the trio decided to experiment the format and created ART in the 1970s.
And while the city of Basel is geography place at the meeting point between France, Germany and Switzerland, and it was the one of 90 galleries and 30 publishers coming from 10 different countries for its first edition in 1970.
Over the years, the fair showcase well-know artist such as Jean Arp, Chagall, Picasso, Henry Moore, Robert Rauschenberg or Gilbert & George. As the fair approach it's five year anniversaries, American dealers came to Basel such as Sidney Janis and Leo Castelli, and by that time, 300 galleries came from 21 countries to exhibits their artists in Basel.
The fair slowly grew up and presents new and upcoming artists of the time such as Fischli and Weiss, Julian Opie and Gerhard Richter. In the 80s, the fair was struggling to differentiate itself from other trade shows like Art Cologne, Fiac in Paris, Art Chicago, and Arco in Madrid.
A new director was put in place in 1991 to prepare the fair for its future. Lorenzo Rudolf made decisive choices for the fair future such as the creation of delegates to represent each country of the fair, and a comity composed of three members for the fairs selection. In 3 years, he secures a sponsorship with UBS and included the VIPs into the experience of Art Basel.
At the turn of the 2000s, the fair was one of the first event to create its own website. In the 2000s, and under the supervision of Sam Keller (a long-time assistant of the galleries Ernst Beyeler), the fair expended in the US with the creation of Art Basel Miami.
Under the supervision of the next director of the fair, Annette Schönholzer and Marc Spiegler bought 60 percent of Asian Art Fairs, then owners of the Hong Kong art fair ArtHK. A year later, they transform it into Art Basel - Hong Kong. Now the small fair is not just a fair, it's the father of an international and global fair brand.
V.2023 - Unlimited
Last's year edition of Unlimited was a bit disappointing in my opinion. I thought the layout of the show was not great, a bit confusing and the works presented were not that great and easy to comprehend.
This years edition, which is curated by Giovanni Carmine, the current director of the Kunst Halle of St.Gallen. His choice was to present 76 installations, ranging from paintings, photographys and installations from renowned artists such as Roni Horn, Carl Andre, Lubaina Himid to new and upcoming artists.
"Unlimited serves as a space for art to unfold in its inherent power and societal significance. It is truly inspiring to witness galleries and artists embracing the potential of this platform, a space where new and context-specific productions are presented. In addition to well-known names like Barbara Kruger, Bruce Nauman, or Christian Marclay, visitors will also have the opportunity to encounter lesser-known artists such as Yuki Kimura or Firelei Báez, whose contributions captivate with their poetic precision. With the distinctiveness of Unlimited in mind, we look forward to the discussions sparked by the encounters between the artworks and the public this year"
Statement of the curator
2. Günther Förg, Untitled, 2005, Presented by Hauser & Wirth
and Galerie Bärbel Grässlin, Courtesy of Art Basel
A few personals highlights of the show are Günther Förg's "Untitled", which is part of a series of grid paintings which he worked on from 2005. And while the work is a 12m long triptych, the colors are a bit faded and the structure and motif might be reminiscent of broken façades, windows or even the bars of a cage.
Another highlight is just next to Förg's picture, and it's Carl Andre "47 Roaring Forties" from 1988 which is a large installation composed of 47 steel units on the floor. The work is one of a series of closely related pieces made by Carl Andre in 1988, which all share the same material and the same size of a basic unit, but the numbers of units vary.
The last highlight is Yinka Shonibare "The African Library" from 2018. The work is a commemoration to those who played a role in the African independence movements. And white the work consists of thousands of books covered in Dutch wax fabrics, with the names of notable figures on the book spines.
V.2023 - Galleries
On the other Hall of the Messe in Basel, the galleries, coming from all around the world are showcasing numerous works, sometimes made this year, and sometime quite establish the artists such as Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Joan Mitchell or Alighiero Boetti.
Like most of the years, some of the booth present beautiful works, such as a Rothko, numerous pictures by Wayne Thibeaud (who had a nice exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler in the spring 2023, Alex Katz (who had a solo show at the Guggenheim in New-York) or even Alice Need and Tacita Dean.
All in All, those kind of booths who present blue-chip art are exciting but not groundbreaking. I've preferred the works of Neo Rauch (presented at the Eigen and Art - R9), the works of Lucas Arruda (presented at Wender Mood DM - R8), or a group of wonderful painting of László Moholy-Nagy (presented at Annely Juda Fine Art - B9). All in All, Art Basel is staying the same, with the same names, galleries, still coming from Europe and from America, still showcasing mostly artists coming from the North Atmosphere.
But all in all, not surprises. And while the 284 galleries in the convention center are trying to differentiate themselves with the scenography, the works, the artists, the events, etc. Art Basel is still Art Basel. Over the years I started to love the fair, and to visit the first floor rather than the ground floor where you just look around, know the names and the prices via the media.
Informations about the fair
Place: Messeplatz 10
CH-4058 Basel
Switzerland
Date: 12-18.06.2023
Ticket: Available on the website of Art Basel and on-site.