Collectors Snap Up Museum-Quality Works by Established Artists at 41st Edition of Art Basel
BASEL.- This year, the 41st edition of Art Basel takes place in Basel, Switzerland, from June 16 through June 20, 2010. As the world’s premier art show, Art Basel marks the annual summer reunion of the international artworld, hosted by the city of Basel, which has been a cultural capital for centuries.
More than 300 galleries from 37 countries on all continents show works by over 2,500 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Furthermore, our exhibitors present major works in the Art Unlimited sector, featuring 56 ambitious projects, and 14 projects in the Art Public sector on Messeplatz.
A special event at Art 41 Basel is the Art Parcours program, which transforms a variety of locations throughout Basel with site-specific artworks and performan-ces. Complimenting Art Basel’s extensive offerings, the city’s museums and institutions once again feature fascinating exhibitions, with a particularly strong focus this year on stars of the recent decades, such as Matthew Barney, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Rodney Graham and Gabriel Orozco.
A visitor looks at the painting 'Black Hat' from 2010 by U.S. artist Alex Katz during a preview at the Art Basel art fair in Basel June 15, 2010. The Art Basel is opened to the public from June 16 to 20. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann.
Founded by a group of local gallerists, the first Art Basel took place in 1970 and the event has long ranked as the most prestigious art show worldwide. The show regularly attracts some 60,000 artists, collectors, gallerists, museum directors, curators, and art enthusiasts, all drawn by both the quality and diversity of the artworks exhibited.
Art 41 Basel showcase every form of artistic expression, including paintings, drawings, editions, sculptures, installations, photography, performances, and video art. Inexpensive works by emerging artists are on display alongside museum-quality masterpieces priced in the millions.
More than 300 of the world’s leading galleries exhibit at Art Basel, selected from more than 1,100 applicants by the Art Basel Committee, an international jury of renowned gallerists. These include 72 galleries from the United States; 53 from Germany; 32 from Switzerland; 27 from both France and Great Britain; 20 from Italy; 8 each from Belgium and Spain; 7 from Austria; 6 from Japan; 5 from India; 4 from Brazil; 3 each from China, Mexico and the Netherlands; 2 from Canada, Denmark, Norway and Poland; and one from Argentina, Australia, Colombia, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Monaco, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, South Korea, South Africa, Sweden, and Turkey.
Art Galleries and Art Edition sectors
Once again, the world’s leading galleries will are exhibiting at the show, for which more than 99 percent of last year’s exhibitors reapplied. This year’s strong roster of returning participants are enhanced by diverse new galleries. Newly presenting contemporary art in Art Galleries are by Baronian Francey (Brussels), i8 Gallery (Reykjavik), Nicolas Krupp (Basel), Simon Lee Gallery (London), Kamel Mennour (Paris), Galerie Nathalie Obadia (Paris), Sies + Höke (Düsseldorf), Taka Ishii Gallery (Tokyo), and Tucci Russo (Torino). After a brief hiatus, Sikkema Jenkins & Co. (New York) rejoins Art Basel’s ex-hibitors in the Art Galleries sector. The lineup of galleries showing 20th-century classics is augmented by Galerie Jacques de la Béraudière (Geneva) and Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art (New York). The specialists in Art Edition are joined by Item Editions (Paris), and the roster of photographic galleries is enhanced by the addition of Sage Paris (Paris).
Art Statements Sector
A frequent site of discovery by those seeking emerging artists, Art Statements this year features 26 single-artist projects from younger galleries worldwide. The projects on display are new and created specifically for presentation in Art Statements. Since 1999, the Bâloise Insurance Group has awarded its annual Bâloise Art Prize to two outstanding Art Statements projects. This year, the prize stands at CHF 30,000 for each artist, in addition to which Bâloise will also acquire works by the prize-winning artists and donate them to the Hamburger Kunsthalle and the MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien.
Art Feature Sector
The newly introduced Art Feature focuses on the curatorial aspects of the gallerist’s practice. This year 20 gallery projects – featuring artistic dialogues, solo shows and exceptional art historical material – will be presented on both floors of Hall 2 alongside the Art Galleries sector.
Art Unlimited Sector
Art Unlimited spotlights 56 ambitious works, many of them created especially for Art 41 Basel. With the accent on innovative and large-scale works, everything from outsize sculptures and installations to video projections, wall paintings, and performances is on show. The exhibition concept has once again been elaborated in collaboration with Geneva curator Simon Lamunière.
Art Public Sector
The exhibition area on Messeplatz, in front of the buildings hosting Art Basel, again serves as an arena for art in the public space, placing 14 art projects in the urban context and encouraging interaction with the general public. The sector is again curated by Basel curator Martin Schwander.
Art Parcours
For three successive nights, site-specific artworks and performances by internationally renowned artists and emerging talents transform a variety of unique locations throughout Basel. This parcours of high-caliber pieces, selected by Jens Hoffmann, Director of the CCA Wattis Institute in San Francisco, engages with today’s Basel and with its long history, weaving artistic interventions into the fabric of the city.
Art Basel Conversations and Art Salon
Staged every morning (June 16 to June 20), Art Basel Conversations bring together prominent members of the international art scene. The Premiere of the Art Basel Conversations features an Artist Talk with Paul McCarthy. Further topics include ‘A Life in Art: Irving Blum’, ‘The Future of the Museum: Art and Architecture,’ ‘Public/Private: Crossing the Atlantic’ and ‘In Honor of Giuseppe Panza di Biumo.’ Additionally, a daily program of seven to eight artist conversations, book signings, discussion forums, and other presentations will take place in the Art Salon forum every afternoon.
Art Film
Art Basel’s week-long program of films by and about artists, Art Film, is curated by Berlin film scholar Marc Glöde (Berlin) and This Brunner, the Zürich collector with pro-found knowledge of the international film scene. Marc Glöde’s program presents films by artists sub-divided into four evenings with different themes. On Saturday evening This Brunner presents the film “Women Without Men” by Shirin Neshat. The screening is followed by Q&A with Shirin Neshat.
Art Basel Weekend
On the weekend of June 18 to June 20, 2010, Art 41 Basel celebrates the Art Basel Weekend, highlighting special activities (solo shows, performances, book signings etc.) from the participating galleries. A variety of panels and presentations geared to art professionals will also be held during the weekend in the context of Art Basel Conversations and Art Salon. And the museums and institutions in Basel will feature a broad range of special events such as guided tours, performances and talks.
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