 The 39th edition of Art Basel takes place in the museumrich city of Basel (Switzerland) from June 4 through 8, 2008. As the world’s premier art show, Art Basel is the annual meeting place of the international art world. This year’s 300 exhibiting galleries, coming from all over the world, were selected out of a record number of more than 1,000 applications and will show works by over 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Highlights: The Art Unlimited hall, with its 60 largescale projects, and Art Basel Conversations, featuring internationally respected panelists. The Art on Stage platform (presented in association with the Theater Basel) will provide the framework for the performance «Drama Queens» by artists Michael Elmgreen (Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (Norway). The local museums also have fascinating exhibitions (including Chaim Soutine, Andrea Zittel, Monika Sosnowska and Fernand Léger) and a broad range of events in store.
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Olafur Eliasson, One-way colour tunnel, 2007, 256x180x1050cm (Courtesy Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, |
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The 39th edition of Art Basel kicks off with a vernissage for invited guests on June 3 and is open to the general public from June 4 through June 8. This annual reunion of the international art world regularly attracts some 60,000 artists, collectors, gallerists, curators, and art enthusiasts from across the globe, who come to see the largest, most rigorously juried overview of what the international art market has to offer - and to meet the stars and insiders of the international art scene. Covered by more than 2,300 media representatives, Art Basel enjoys a formidable reputation based both on the peerless quality and incomparable diversity of the exhibited art works and on the show’s international audience.
Art Galleries: Over 300 of the world’s leading galleries will be exhibiting at Art 39 Basel. Selected in accordance with rigorous quality criteria from a record number of more than 1,000 applicants, they include: 72 galleries from the USA; 49 from Germany; 35 from Switzerland; 29 from Great Britain; 22 from France; 20 from Italy; 10 from Austria; 9 each from Belgium and Spain; 6 from Japan; 4 each from Brazil, China, and Denmark; 3 each from Canada, the Netherlands, and Sweden; 2 each from Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, and South Korea; and one each from Argentina, Australia, Finland, India, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, and Turkey. Art 39 Basel will be showcasing all forms of artistic expression, the repertoire extending from paintings, drawings, editions, and sculptures to installations, photography, performances, and internet and video art. Works for a few thousand francs by young emerging artists will be on display alongside museum-quality masterpieces priced in the millions.
Art on Stage: Initiated last year in association with the Theater Basel, the Art on Stage platform offers an ideal exhibition context for artists who require a large stage and an auditorium for their work. This year artists Michael Elmgreen (Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (Norway) will be presenting their performance «Drama Queens». Art On Stage is curated by Jens Hoffmann, Director of the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts in San Francisco. The event is open to the public and admission is free.
Art Premiere: This year’s special Art Premiere sector will be running under the heading «Artists in Dialogue». Each of the 16 curated projects showcases a fascinating juxtaposition of works by two artists.
Art Statements: The Art Statements sector will expand to include 31 solo exhibitions of young artists. The projects on display are new and often created specifically for presentation in this highly regarded sector for young artists. Since 1999, the Baloise Insurance Group has awarded its annual Baloise Art Prize of CHF 25,000 per recipient to two outstanding Art Statements projects. The company also acquires works by the prizewinning artists and donates them to important museums, such as the Kunsthalle in Hamburg and the Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation in Vienna.
Neo Rauch, Puls, 2005, 210x270cm (Courtesy Galerie Eigen + Art Berlin, Berlin) |
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Art Unlimited: Art Unlimited will spotlight approximately 60 unconventional works. The platform enables artists to exhibit works that would be subject to spatial, temporal, technical, financial, or contextual constraints within a traditional exhibitor booth. With the accent on innovative and large-scale works, everything from outsize sculptures and installations to video projections, wall paintings, and performances will be on show and for sale. Many of the exhibited pieces are created especially for Art Unlimited. The exhibition is once again being devised in collaboration with Genevacurator Simon Lamunière. This year, for the first time, the auditorium for Art Basel Conversations and the Art Lobby will be sited within the Art Unlimited hall. A bookstore, café, and comprehensive video library for individual viewing of video works are also on the premises.
Artists Books: After focusing on artist records last year, this year’s special show highlights magazines produced or designed by artists. Informational events and presentations featuring the artists themselves will also take place. The exhibition is organized by Zurich curator and publisher Lionel Bovier.
Public Art Projects The exhibition area in front of the buildings hosting Art 39 Basel will once become an arena for art projects in the public space. The interventions promise to engage with the daily lives of passersby in both poetic and alienating (or surprising) ways. Public Art Projects represents not a traditional sculpture exhibition, but rather genuine interventions in urban space. The sector’s concept was devised by experienced Basel exhibition maker Martin Schwander.
Art Film: The Art Film sector once again features an outstanding program of films by and about artists, screened at the Stadtkino Basel. Art Film is curated by film scholar Marc Glöde (Berlin). This Brunner, a collector with profound knowledge of the international film scene, and artist John Armleder will each be organizing an evening with special guests.
Art Basel Conversations and Art Lobby: Staged every morning from June 4 to June 7, the Art Basel Conversations feature prominent art collectors, museum directors, artists, and curators discussing subjects relating to the exhibition and collection of art. In the afternoon,the Art Lobby forum offers a daily program of artist conversations,book signings, discussions, and presentations.Professional DayProfessional Day takes place Friday, June 6. Exhibitors atArt Basel will be staging special activities (solo shows, performances,book signings) at their booths for the occasion. A variety of other events and symposiums geared to art professionals willbe held throughout the day in the context ofArt Basel Conversations and Art Lobby.
Opening image: Kimsooja, Cities on the Move (1997) – 2727 KM Bottari Truck, 2001, 188.5x128x25.5cm (Courtesy Kewenig Galerie, Köln, Palma de Mallorca)
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Anselm Reyle, Untitled, 2007, 143x121x18.5cm (Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, New York, Beverly Hills, |
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Futher Information
Art Basel 2008
Art Basel Official Site
Art Basel 2007
Art Basel 2006
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