Art Basel is a prime meeting point for the art world. For one week, the city’s main focus will be on art. Since it was first held in 1970, Art Basel has evolved into the mother of all art fairs. It was initially launched by three gallery owners and art dealers, Trudl Bruckner, Balz Hilt and Ernst Beyeler. They originally conceived it as a counterpoint to what is today known as Art Cologne. Art Basel was internationally oriented from the start, and has continued to grow and evolve. The core aim, however, remains the same: to turn art into an experience for all those who attend. Nowadays, it is hard to imagine the art landscape without this annual fair.
Art Basel experience
The fair is at once a meeting point, a sales platform and place for personal encounters. Although the “Messe Basel” exhibition site represents the heart of the event, the local art and culture institutions also make an important contribution to the overall Art Basel experience with numerous high-quality exhibitions. There is something intimate about the Basel – as is the case with Venice – that together with the city’s vibrant ecosystem of art scenes and cultural institutions adds to the unique charm of Art Basel.
Hybrid of superlatives
Basel’s museums and art institutions take special care to align their exhibition and event programmes with the annual art fair.
Kunstmuseum Basel, for example, takes visitors on a special kind of time trip with “Medardo Rosso. Inventing Modern Sculpture. Works by over 60 artists from the past 100 years, including Louise Bourgeois, Miriam Cahn, Hans Josephsohn, Meret Oppenheim, Pamela Rosenkranz and Richard Serra, are brought into resonance with those of Medardo Rosso.
The Fondation Beyeler is offering a bouquet of highly attractive presentations. Visitors are given a rare opportunity to discover the impressive oeuvre of US artist Vija Celmins, while the “Little Room” hosts the first public display of the new virtual reality installation by Los Angeles based artist Jordan Wolfson. The museum’s newly designed presentation of works from its collection is, meanwhile, entirely dedicated to paintings.
In commemoration of Jean Tinguely’s 100th birthday, Rebecca Moss and Augustin Rebetez have installed an art-related ghost train in Solitude Park, in front of the Tinguely museum. The museum is also showing “Midnight Zone” by the Franco-Swiss artist Julian Charrière, a sensuous and thought-provoking collection of creations dealing with under-water ecosystems.
How was it possible that an American church from the 18th century managed to inspire generations of artists, architects and designers throughout the world? The Vitra Design Museum is presenting the entire creative spectrum of the Shakers, ranging from buildings and furniture to tools and textiles.
The Basel Social Club is using Bank Vontobel’s historic buildings in Rittergasse this year as the location for its hip event in connection with Art Basel.
A regular feature of Art Basel is known as the “Parcours”. It comprises a combination of site-related installations, sculptures, interventions and performances that are intended to trigger thoughts and discussions about art and its urban environment. “Second Nature”, as the presentation is suggestively called this year, focuses on artistic projects situated between nature and artificiality that evoke more than just visual sensory experiences.
Art Basel in Basel | Art Basel
Kunstmuseum Basel – Kunstmuseum Basel
Fondation Beyeler | Moderne & zeitgenössische Kunst
Grösste Sammlung kinetischer Werke von Jean Tinguely | Museum Tinguely Basel