Basel 2010
The Highs and Lows

Basel
Art Basel, Art Statements, Volta, Liste, Art Public, Art Unlimited, Design Miami/Basel
16/06/10 - 20/06/10

Eva and Adele, Art Basel

Art Basel and the concurrent fairs like Liste and Volta did not bring any jaw dropping experiences, but the quality of the works shown was fair to good. Museum shows were excellent; Basquiat at the Fondation Beyeler was brash and powerful, Gonzales Torres in the same venue was serene and extremely moving. Rodney Graham’s ‘Through the Forest’ at the Kunstmuseum was both intellectual and diverting. Only Matthew Barney at the Schaulager disappointed with an overproduced and self-celebratory bore of a show.

Of the few solo’s at Art Basel there was one standout: Gedi Sibony at Greene Naftali. With his use of cheap materials and make-shift aesthetics he produced the perfect antidote to all the high gloss polish abounding at the fair. Another solo by Billy Childish at Neugerriemschneider of anachronistic expressionist paintings was a commercial success, but the question remains who is buying into this hoax? The wooden floor of the booth, designed by Jorge Pardo, deserved more attention than any of the paintings.

Through the use of simple materials and the apparent careless way of presenting, this installation by Gedi Sibony formed a convincing statement amongst all the packed booths at Art Basel. Gedi Sibony, Greene Naftali, Art Basel.

Incomprehensible presentation of a serious gallery. Billy Childish, Neugerriemschnieder, Art Basel.

The critique that there was a dearth of women artists at booths at Art Basel holds true. Buyers seem to be most confident with artists with museum records, solo exhibitions and works in permanent collections and these happen to be mainly male and white. The dealers who cater for this market are not in the game for any fast changes. Fortunately at Art Statements there was a larger contingent of women artists. In this respect at Liste, Galerie Juliette Jongma stood out with a large presentation of two women artists, namely Melissa Gordon and Nina Yuen. At Volta, Galerie Christian Lethert caught the eye with large works by Nelleke Beltjens and Jorinde Voigt.

An interesting trend was how often one came across artworks using stones, rocks or mortar, be it at Liste, Volta or Art Basel itself. Maybe some artists want to remind us that there is still a crisis going on and that we should keep ourselves grounded. There were however few politically inspired works to be seen, Goshka Macuga being one of the more interesting exceptions.

Rocks:


	Michael Dean, Herald Street Gallery, Liste.
	Michael Dean, Herald Street Gallery, Liste. Michael Dean, Supportico Lopez, Liste Benjamin Valenza, Fluxia Gallery, Liste. Amir Mogharabi, Elizabeth Dee Gallery, Liste. Volta Unknown, Art Basel. Ryan Gander, Lisson Gallery, Art Basel. Jimmie Durham, Christine Konig Galerie, Art Basel. Alterazioni Video, V.M. 21, Volta. Clea Coudsi & Eric Herbin, Schirman & De Beauce Gallery, Volta. Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Mai 36 Galerie, Art Basel. Goshka Macuga, Galerie Rudiger Schottle, Art Basel. Goshka Macuga, Andrew Kreps Gallery, Art Basel. Jean-Luc Moulene, Carlier Gebauer., Art Basel. John Miller, Meyer Riegger, Art Basel. Franz West, Grasslin, Art Basel.

Highlights

Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam bought ‘Rotating Kitchen’, a videowork by Zeger Reyers from Galerie Maurits van de Laar at Scope and director Sjarel Ex was seen discussing a work by Elizabeth McAlpine at Laura Bartlett at Art Statements.

Sjarel Ex, director of Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, admiring the work of Elizabeth McAlpine at Art Statements with gallerist Laura Bartlett. Elizabeth McAlpine. Laura Bartlett Gallery, Art Statements.

The Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam has acquired Zeger Reyers’ videowork ‘Rotating Kitchen’. Zeger Reyers, Galerie Maurits van de Laar, Scope.

Another highlight is the site-specific work Lara Almarcegui made for Art Statements at Ellen de Bruijne Projects. It would be a perfect artwork to remain on site somewhere in the Messe building.

Would make a fine acquisition for the Messe building. Lara Almarcegui, Ellen de Bruijne Projects, Art Statements.

Other highlights:


	Impressive installation by James Beckett at Liste. James Beckett, Wilfried Lentz, Liste.
	Impressive installation by James Beckett at Liste. James Beckett, Wilfried Lentz, Liste. A kind of Arte Povera antidote against the overconsumption at Art Basel. Gedi Sibony, Galerie Neu, Art Basel. A view of the booth of Galerie Neu from Berlin, with works by Claire Fontaine, Cerith Wyn Evans and Gedi Sibony. Lily van der Stokker always puts a smile on your face. Lily van der Stokker, Francesca Kaufmann, Art Basel. Ai Wei Wei, Galerie Urs Meile, Art Basel. Ai Wei Wei at Art Public in the open air. Claire Fontaine, 'Father and Son (Prisoner with Child)' Metro Pictures, Art Basel. Thank you Louise! Louise Bourgeois, 'Amoeba,1963-1965', Hauser & Wirth, Art Basel. Paul McCarthy looking at Louise Bourgeois in the booth of Hauser & Wirth. Joep van Liefland's Video Palace #31 Black Systems, Galerie Gebr. Lehmann, Art Basel. A considerable respite between the hustle and bustle of Art Basel. The subtle videowork ‘Dissonant’ by Manon de Boer, Jan Mot, Art Basel. An inconspicuous conceptual work by Ian Wilson from 1982, Jan Mot, Art Basel. The Kaaba in a desert of couscous: Couscous Kaaba. Kader Attia, Art Unlimited. In the performance 'Insulting the audience' this friendly man insulted you in a very special way. Dora Garcia, Art Public.

Low points

The low points consisted mainly of works concerning bees, birds, fish, snails, mice and the superficial and random use of the American Flag.


	Designer wants to be Damien Hirst, but then with bees instead of flies? Tomas Libertiny, Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Design Miami/Basel.
	Designer wants to be Damien Hirst, but then with bees instead of flies? Tomas Libertiny, Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Design Miami/Basel. The work of Hella Jongerius gets less subtle by the day, Galerie Kreo, Design Miami. Maybe a bit too artificial? Hella Jongerius, Artificial Vases. Very literal. Nice for in the nursery. Jorge Perianes, Ad Hoc, Volta. Should we laugh or cry? Aristarkh Chernyshev & Alexei Shulgin, XL Gallery, Art Basel. An owl sitting on a John McCracken? Aldo Chaparro, Galeria OMR, Art Basel. Pomp and circumstance. Sergei Shekhovtsov, XL Gallery, Art Basel. Nice, art for kids. Erinc Seymen, Galerist, Art Basel. Please. Wilhelm Sasnal, Johnen Galerie, Art Basel. There is more where that came from. Damien Hirst, White Cube, Art Basel. Superficial and random use of the American Flag. Banks Violette, Maureen Paley, Art Basel. Superficial and random use of the American flag. Dhan Vo, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Art Basel. Practically the same work as at Maureen Paley, but now at Team Gallery. This designer has taken a good look at fellow designer Maarten Baas. Vincent Dubourg, Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Design Miami/Basel. The stain is caused by the scales and skin of a catfish that was wrapped in the piece of silk. Very ingenious. Luca Francesconi, Fluxia Gallery, Liste. Interesting statement. Skilling themselves may also help. Sean Landers, Greengrassi, Art Basel.