Art News

Art 42 Basel International Art Fair From June 15th Through 19th

artwork: Nie Mu - "Dog Eats Dog", 2005 - Oil on canvas - 180 x 240 cm. - Courtesy Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne, © the artist. Galerie Urs Meile will be exhibiting at Art Basel from June 15th to 19th.


Basel.- The 42nd International Art Fair in Basel will be held from June 15th to June 19th. The world’s premier international art show for Modern and contemporary works, Art Basel features nearly 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. More than 2,500 artists, ranging from the great masters of Modern art to the latest generation of emerging stars, are represented in the show’s multiple sections. The exhibition includes the highest-quality paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, photographs, video and editioned works.

artwork: Camille Rose Garcia - "Mirror, Black Mirror", 2011 Acrylic, glitter, gold leaf on panel 48" x 36" - Courtesy Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, © the artist. Nearly 300 of the world’s leading art galleries for Modern and contemporary art display 20th- and 21st-century art works. Visitors to Art Basel’s main hall can discover paintings, drawings, sculpture, installations, prints, photography, video and digital art by more than 2,500 artists. The pieces available range from editioned works by emerging artists to museum-caliber masterpieces by legendary figures in art history. 62,500 people attended Art 41 Basel, the last edition of this favorite rendezvous for the global artworld, including art collectors, art dealers, artists, curators and other art enthusiasts.

This year’s Art Unlimited features 62 projects. The artists showing at this exhibition of ambitious contemporary art represent a cross-section of leading figures from the international art scene, with works by artists of five different decades. Many pieces have been created especially for Art Unlimited. In the 17,000-square-meter exhibition hall, Art Unlimited offers artists and galleries a platform for works that exceed the possibilities of the conventional gallery booth, showcasing outsize sculptures, video projections, installations, wall paintings, photographic series, and performance art.

Since its launch in 2000, many of the world’s leading contemporary artists have exhibited in the Art Unlimited sector, which is generously supported by UBS. The design of this year’s exhibition, drawn exclusively from proposals by the show’s gallerists, has once again been devised by the Geneva curator Simon Lamunière.

This year, works by long-established artists – such as Carl Andre, John Baldessari, Daniel Buren, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Dan Flavin, Mona Hatoum, Anish Kapoor, Robert Rauschenberg, Thomas Schütte, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Cerith Wyn Evans – are joined by pieces from younger and emerging stars such as Jennife) – Textr Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Jacob Kassay, Robert Kusmirowski, Mark Leckey and Sarah Morris.

For Art 42Basel the Art Statements sector spotlights 28 solo projects by young artists. Selected by the Art Basel Committee from more than 300 applications, the participating artists come from 17 different countries. The Art Statements sector has promoted young artists for over 10 years now, offering them a special platform that brings them to the eyes of an international audience of curators, collectors and art critics. Many previous participating artists have been awarded major exhibitions as a result of being discovered at Art Statements.

artwork: Isaac Julien - "Yishan Island, Mist (Ten Thousand Waves)", 2010 - Endura Ultra photograph 180 x 240 cm. -  Courtesy Almine Rech Gallery Paris, © the artist.

With its world-class museums, outdoor sculptures, theaters, concert halls, idyllic medieval old town and new buildings by leading architects, Basel ranks as a culture capital, and that cultural richness helps put the Art Basel week on the agenda for art lovers from all over the globe. During Art Basel, a fascinating atmosphere fills this traditional city, as the international art show is reinforced with exhibitions and events all over the region.

Located on the banks of the Rhine, at the border between Switzerland, France and Germany, Basel is easily navigated by foot and trams. Visit the Art Basel website at … http://www.artbasel.com