Art Basel returns to Switzerland in full swing, held at Messe Basel from June 16—19 with support from UBS. Exhibited across platforms like Galleries, Features, Statements, and Editions, the fair’s 289 presenting galleries are bringing a range of works by contemporary creators and rare and historical marvels. The fair also encompasses a series of large-scale works in the Unlimited sector, site-specific projects in Parcours, and a program encompassing talks, films, and other special happenings.
“This year our Basel show returns to its traditional June dates with full-scale programming across the city, from Lawrence Weiner’s participatory floor installation at the Messeplatz, to site-specific interventions and performances in Parcours and our dedicated Film program showcasing artists working with moving image at the Stadtkino Basel,” said Marc Spiegler, the fair’s Global Director.
“Lynn Hershman Leeson: Twisted,” 2021, exhibition view: New Museum, New York; photo by Dario Lasagni, courtesy of the artist; Altman Siegel, San Francisco; and Bridget Donahue, New York.
Those in attendance will find new and recent works by contemporary artists on view with names like Galerie Martin Janda, Taka Ishii Gallery, greengrassi, galerie frank elbaz, Jeffrey Deitch, The Breeder, LGDR, Galerie Lelong & Co., Catriona Jeffries, Lisson Gallery, P.P.O.W, Stampa, ZERO…, Perrotin, Labor, Marian Goodman Gallery, and Experimenter. Meanwhile, in Features, the works of artists prominent from the 20th and 21st centuries are being presented by art spaces like Clearing, Galerie Maria Bernheim, hunt kastner, Ivan Gallery, Gypsum Gallery, Altman Siegel, Galerie Knoell, LambdaLambdaLambda, Vadehra Art Gallery.
Curated once again by the Director of the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, Giovanni Carmine, the fair’s Unlimited programming (housed in Hall 1 of Messe Platz) will feature 70 expansive projects, including highlights like a large-scale painting by Mary Lovelace O’Neal, presented by Jenkins Johnson Gallery; Kennedy Yanko’s specially-commissioned suspended sculpture, By means other than the known senses, presented by Vielmetter Los Angeles; and a mural by Theaster Gates with the gallery Gray, titled Hardware Store Painting.
“Unlimited 2022 is decidedly intense, no less a reflection on the contradictory era in which we live,” Carmine said. “A powerful expression of this is the polymorphous chorus of artistic voices in this exhibition, singing in protest against isolation, loneliness, and indifference. The chants are becoming louder and ever-more discernible.”
Hans-Peter Feldman, “Girl in a chair,” Oil on canvas, framed, Image © Hans-Peter Feldmann, courtesy the artist and 303 Gallery, New York.
This year’s edition of Parcours, the fair’s public art program, is encompassed in the theme “How to Grow in Times of Change.” Here, 20 site-specific performances and installations curated by SALTS founder Samuel Leuenberger can be found taking place in Basel’s city center. Also worth a visit is an engaging installation by and honoring the recently-deceased Lawrence Weiner, titled Out of Sight.
Outside of the fair’s many installations and artworks, visitors should be sure to take advantage of the 12 panels making up the highly-anticipated Conversations series (this year looking at topics like NFTs and climate change), which has been curated by Emily Butler. And finally, the Film program (organized by returning curator Filipa Ramos, the Founding Curator of Vdrome) will highlight names like Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Tala Madani, and Sky Hopinka, and works like the feature-length documentary directed by Sam Pollard, Black Art: In the Absence of Light.
Florian Maier-Aichen, “Not yet titled (rocks at the coast of Point Mugu),” 2022, C-print; Image © Florian Maier-Aichen, courtesy the artist and 303 Gallery, New York.
