Last week all eyes were on Basel. The 48th edition of Art Basel brought together 291 galleries from 35 countries. At the same time, the satellite fairs such as Liste, Volta 13, Design Miami/ Basel took place around the Swiss city. So, this week we have selected articles commented on this event.
Selections from Around Art Basel 2017
By Maximilíano Durón / The Artnews
Among the highlights, the work by Joanna Piotrowska represented by Dawid Radziszewski Gallery from Warsaw exhibited at Statements section. (Dawid Radziszewski, Warsaw | Statements: Joanna Piotrowska, Untitled, 2015)
Dawid Radziszewski, Warsaw | Statements: Joanna Piotrowska, Untitled, 2015.
Art-Fair Economics: Why Small Galleries Do Art Fairs Even When They Don’t Make Money
By Julia Halperin / The Artnet News
As the middle market shrinks, many dealers are finding they can’t afford to do fairs—but they can’t afford not to, either.
Think art fairs are all about sold-out booths, comfortable shoes, and exclusive dinner invitations? Think again. For many small to mid-size galleries, fairs—like Art Basel in Basel, which opens to VIPs today—are an increasingly nail-biting gamble that involves paying hundreds of thousands of dollars up front with no guarantee of a payoff.
Kaikai Kiki Gallery at Art Basel Hong Kong 2017. Photo courtesy of Art Basel.
The 10 Most Extraordinary Artworks at Art Basel Unlimited 2017
By Andrew Goldstein & Julia Halperin / The Artnet News
Here are the standout pieces in this year’s edition of the gargantuan art exhibition, curated once again by Gianni Jetzer.
With its colossal artworks, gleaming astonishments, and elegantly dressed dealers guarding darkened grottos of digital delight (i.e. screening rooms), Art Basel’s Unlimited section resembles nothing so much as Aladdin’s Cave of Wonder, where treasures pile upon treasures to overwhelming effect.
Song Dong’s Through the Wall (2016) at Art Basel Unlimited, which opened to VIPs on Monday. Photo by Julia Halperin.
Commerce Meets Culture at Art Basel
By Ted Loos / The New York Times
Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, an art collector based in Turin, Italy, is what you would call an art fair frequent flier. And a strongly motivated shopper.
Ms. Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, who has a foundation that bears her name, has been attending Art Basel for 25 years. And she will be on hand at the 48th edition of the fair from June 15 to 18 in Basel, Switzerland, which features 291 galleries from 34 countries and territories.
Chris Burden’s “Ode to Santos Dumont” (2015), a replica airship inspired by an aviation pioneer, will appear in the Unlimited sector of Art Basel this year. Credit All rights reserved Chris Burden. Image courtesy of The Chris Burden Estate, Gagosian, and LACMA. Photograph by Peter Brenner.
Outside the Booth: Gianni Jetzer Curates Art Basel’s Unlimited
By Katy Donoghue / The Whitewall
Without fail, each year Art Basel brings together an unparalleled array of unique artworks from today’s top artists, represented by the best of the world’s galleries. But sometimes what’s happening outside the booth walls is even more astonishing.
Gianni Jetzer Curator Unlimited, Photo courtesy of Stefan Holenstein
What Sold at Art Basel in Basel
By Anna Louie Sussman/ The Artsy
The mood at the 48th edition of Art Basel in Basel was buoyant, perhaps even jubilant. Was it the function of a European economy that has performed stronger than most had expected? Relief that populism may not be sweeping the Continent after all? A stronger influx of Asian buyers? The long days of nonstop sunshine? The contagion of the miniature dance party in the plaza outside of the conference center in which the art fair is held, courtesy of artist Claudia Comte? This depended on who you asked.
Installation view of Mnuchin Gallery’s booth at Art Basel, 2017, photo by Benjamin Westoby for Artsy
‘Basquiat Factor’ and a Glut of Options Stoke Sales at Art Basel
By Scott Reyburn / The New York Times
Documenta in Athens, Frieze New York, Damien Hirst’s “Treasures From the Wreck of the Unbelievable,” the Venice Biennale, auctions in New York, Documenta in Kassel, Skulptur Projekte Münster, Art Basel and at least half a dozen satellite fairs…
Anish Kapoor’s Monochrome Yellow 2017 on display at the Galerie Kemel Mennour stand at Art Basel
From the Contemporary Lynx archives:
ART BASEL 2016 – TREASURE HUNT
Written by Dobromila Blaszczyk
In June, the city of Basel becomes the most important trading market for artworks in the world. The most prominent art gallery representatives, collectors, curators and members of the press arrive at the city, not to mention a huge group of art lovers who flock there as eager visitors in hope to be able to admire works by the most famous art classics of the 19th and the 20th century, as well as by promising young artists which are gathered in a single place.
This is a real treasure hunt!
