The 49th edition of Art Basel brings the international artworld together, with 290 of the world’s leading galleries showing the works of over 4,000 artists from 35 countries accross Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Africa.
Despite all the visual spectacle that awaits you at the fair, it may be worth mentioning that the world of art galleries is not in its best condition. The 2018 Art Market Report notes that for the first time in ten years, more galleries closed than were opened in 2017. According to the report, gallery visitor numbers are decreasing and art fairs are replacing gallery exhibitions. But Art Basel doesn’t allow gallerists to participate in the fair without a fixed gallery location and beyond that taking part in art fairs is pretty expensive. The galleries in the main section of Art Basel pay 830 Swiss francs per square meter of exhibition space and additional costs include partition screens which costs 530 Swiss francs per running meter, lightning and other extras. But exhibitors get great value for their money, said Art Basel director Marc Spiegler in an interview for Monopol Magazine. Important sales are made here and contacts are forged with new collectors. Furthermore the sections like “Statements”, “Unlimited” and “Parcours” are heavily subsidized by the fair, and these sections are indeed important platforms for artists and galleries.
Elusive was on the ground in Basel and has cherry-picked the very best of what Art Basel has to offer this year. Even before you can catch a glimpse of our pictures, it should be emphasized that no other fair can show such quality and spoil visitors with the very best that the art market has to offer.
Catriona Jeffries Gallery, Vancouver
Louise Bourgeois / The Couple, 2003 / Galerie Karsten Greve, St. Moritz
Barbara Kruger / I Win You Lose, 2017 / Sprüth Magers
Mona Hatoum / Small Basket, 2015 / White Cube, London
Damien Hirst / Nothing Can Stop Us Now, 2006 / White Cube, London
Sanford Biggers / Seent, 2018 / Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, Aspen
Giovanni Anselmo / Dissolvenza, 1970 / Tucci Russo
Giovanni Anselmo / Senza Titolo, 1967 / Tucci Russo
Julian Opie / Walking in Melbourne 1-6, 2018 / Alan Cristea Gallery, London
Flaka Haliti / Its Urgency Got Lost In Reverse (while being in constant delay) #2, 2018 / Deborah Schamoni, Munich
Jack Pierson / The Price of Tea in China, 2013 / Galleria Christian Stein, Milano
Sara Deraedt / Moulinex, 2017 / Essex Street
Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York, Hong Kong
Stuart Middleton / Sleeping Person, 2018 / Carlos Ishikawa, London
Neugerriemschneider Gallery, Berlin
Brian Jungen / Supersize the light in all directions 2, 2018 / Catrion Jeffries, Vancouver
Elmgreen & Dragset / Statue of Liberty, 2018 / König Galerie
Art Unlimited 2018 / Entrance
Nedko Solakov / I miss Socialism, maybe…, 2010 / Galleria Continua
Robert Longo / ‘Death Star’ Sculpture (made of 40,000 Bullet Casings) / Metro Pictures and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
Ai Weiwei / Tiger, Tiger, Tiger, 2015 / Lisson Gallery, Neugerriemschneider
Horia Damian / Galaxy. Project for a monument in Houstan, Texas, 1972-2018 / Plan B, Berlin
Lee Ufan / Relatum (Iron Field), 1969, 1994, 2018 / Pace, New York
Jon Rafman / Dream Journal, 2017 / Sprüth Magers
Ana Lupas / Christmas trees for the years to come, 1993 / P420, Bologna
Lygia Pape / Ttéia 1, B, 2000/2018 / Hauser & Wirth, Zürich
José Yaque / Tumba Abierta III, 2018 / Galleria Continua
Rashid Johnson / Antoine’s Organ, 2016 / Hauser & Wirth, Zürich
James Turrell / Catso Violet, 1967 / Bernier Eliades, Athens
Fred Sandback / Untitled (Sculptural Study, Sevenpart Triangular Construction), 1982/2011 / David Zwirner, New York
Imagery by Ioannis Martinis
*featured image: Lara Almarcegui’s artwork Gravel; a large-scale installation of excavated gravel taken from a nearby active quarry. These piles will grow incrementally during the week of the fair, mirroring the average volume extracted from Basel’s quarries. The work serves as an invitation to reflect on the consequences of our extractive relationship to the land.
