Oysters and Champagne – once again to celebrate the start of the fiftieth edition of Art Basel – the most influential and glamorous art fair in the world – will be open until 18 June. starts from Unlimited, inaugurated on Monday evening, is where you get lost among the monumental works of art that attract the attention of collectors and major international museums. Tuesday morning we head to the mess to attend the ceremonial breakfast and begin the run through the two hundred and eighty-four participating galleries, twenty one of the best in the field, twenty one of whom are their first participation. As always, the offer is of museum quality, above all on the ground floor, where one walks among masterpieces by masters of art history – among the most notable and expensive works is a Rothko by Acquavella offered for sixty million dollars, “Spider IV”. sold by Hauser & Wirth for twenty-two million dollars by Louise Bourgeois and presented to de Kooning by Gagosian for approximately thirty-five million dollars. The first floor is a protégé of some of the most high-sounding and sought-after names on the contemporary scene.
The Belair Foundation
During Art Basel, the Fondation Baylor never fails to amaze, welcoming its visitors with two extraordinary exhibitions this year. Basquiat. modena paintings – Until August 27 – Presents for the first time in history the eight magnificent monumental canvases that Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) created in Modena in 1982, at only twenty-one years old, an exhibition commissioned by the gallery owner For Emilio Mazzoli. The exhibition never took place, but the eight canvases – now in important American, Asian and Swiss collections – perfectly embody the artist’s unmistakable style: explosiveness of color and gesture, slogan-filled motifs, stylized characters, as well as references and denunciation pop of culture, casteism and social injustice. In Antipodes, the monographic Doris Salcedo – until 17 September – is the first exhibition that Switzerland dedicates to the Colombian artist born in Bogotá in 1958. Eight works created by Salcedo at different periods of his career speak with surprising humility and respect. The pain, grief and loss generated by dramatic events, massacres and violence, are often linked to the tragic history of one’s own country.
Exhibitions at the Basel Kunstmuseum
Following last year’s iconic exhibition dedicated to the dialogue between Pablo Picasso and El Greco, this year the Kunstmuseum celebrates two heroes of abstraction from the past century, who are often left in the shadow of their male peers. charmian von weigand – until August 13 – for the first time in Europe retrospectives the career of the American journalist, art critic and painter (1896–1983) who was a friend and supporter of Mondrian, with forty-nine works with neoplastic geometry linked to Buddhism and theosophy . , Shirley Jaffe. form as used Instead, it is the first Swiss retrospective dedicated to Shirley Jaffe (1923–2016), a champion of Abstract Expressionism. The exhibition traces his entire life and career, also through an ambitious catalogue: from his early gesture paintings and his arrival in Paris, to his friendships with Kimber Smith, Sam Francis and Joan Mitchell, to the maturation of Irregular Geometric Dances and chase each other across large format canvases.
Until September 3rd, a must-visit exhibition dedicated to Bernard Buffett, the “painter of existence” as well as Andy Warhol’s favorite artist, the accompanying exhibition born in ukraine – until July 7 – with a selection of masterpieces from the National Art Gallery of Kiev.
collateral contemporary art
Throughout the week, Art Basel’s “Parkours” project invites its visitors to discover the city with site-specific contemporary art installations that fit into the context of gardens, libraries, buildings and public spaces – this edition The edit by Samuel Luneberger features Petra Courtright, Martin Creed, Shilpa Gupta, Thomas Housgo, Luis Lazaro Matos and Chloe Wise among the cast. The journey into contemporary continues with a visit to two side fairs a stone’s throw from Art Basel – Liste Art Fair Basel and June Basel, the latter dedicated to Swiss artists and designers – and ends at the Kunsthalle with two monographic exhibitions Is. English Patrick Staff – P Staff. in extaceby 10 September – and by American Tiona Nekkia McCloden – by 13 August.