A Basel Bonanza
Of course, our annual pilgrimage to the Swiss city of Basel would not have even taken place without the juggernaut fairs taking place each June. Art Basel, Unlimited, Liste, and DesignMiami offered varied, unique, and absolutely jam-packed days of art consumption. You can find below a few of our highlights.
Art Basel
The fair’s trademark has always been quality, and this year was no different. However, given the state of things these days, collectors were understandably quite selective, as well as fairly price-conscious. There were few masterpieces on display, negotiations were commonplace, and works in the middle category between blue chip and emerging artists were much more difficult to sell.
Art Basel Unlimited
The Unlimited section of Art Basel did not dissappoint. Curated by Giovanni Carmine, this year’s iteration presented 76 large-scale installations that examined the power of context and its influence on behavior. You can see some of our favorite monumental works here below:
Photos courtesy Art Basel
Liste Art Fair Basel
Taking place in the Messe Basel this year, the location proved practical but lacked charm. Without the old brewery lending a more exciting air to the whole thing, the ambience was rather different. Liste has traditionally been a fair where we could discover new galleries and artists, and this year that proved true once again. However, that means many longtime galleries did not take part this year.
Two personal standouts from this year’s fair were VIN VIN with Cecilia De Nisco, whose show sold out within an hour of opening, and Nicoletti Contemporary’s less commercial showcasing of Hugo Servanin, whose extremely new and avant-garde sculptures were recently exhibited in a solo-show at the Magasins Généraux in Paris. All in all, these were two great discoveries from two great galleries.
Design Miami/ Basel
Very well organised, this fair was a great overview of contemporary design. The quality was top notch, and that was often reflected in the prices. Here are a couple of our personal stand-outs:
