Noah Horowitz stood with a big smile on his face filming the crowd on his iPhone as the black rope was pulled down in Basel on Monday evening, unleashing a flood of VIP collectors, curators and art advisers in his first edition of Art Basel as CEO. Vincenzo de Bellis, director of fairs and exhibition platforms, was at his side, looking just as delighted.
Installed behind the two heads of the Swiss marquee, an imposing 6K video projection of a burning ship by Adel Abdessemed. Presented by the Galleria Continua, on one of the largest screens available in Europe, this powerful political work (priced at €850,000 or $915,000) was an ambitious opening statement for this year’s Unlimited sector, l dedicated space at the fair for large-scale works and installations.
Unlimited is synonymous with monumentality and impact. But in a bumpy moment of uncertainty around the world – including the art market – it seems that Art Basel’s elite galleries are betting on artists who have already passed the curatorial milestone. As a result, the sector looks like a victory lap for some of the most talked about artist projects of the past calendar year, and visitors who have attended many of 2022’s major biennials and institutional exhibitions have likely spotted some familiar works.
At Adel Abdessemed Jam Proximus Ardet, the latest video (2021), presented by Galleria Continua. Photo: Courtesy of Art Basel.
Notably, an audience favorite in Venice, the video Dreams don’t have Securities by Zineb Sedira, was brought to Basel by Parisian merchant Kamel Mennour. Indeed, several artists from the 2022 Venice Biennale have works on display (and the curator of the exhibition, Cecilia Alemani, who had just visited Zurich Art Weekend, was also seen browsing the floor of the fair during the preview night).
Similarly, an arrangement of painted car hoods by Selma Selman, presented by the Polish gallery ABC, has already been exhibited at Documenta 15. And Thaddaeus Ropac brought an installation by Markus Schinwald, Panorama (2022), in Basel after its premiere at the Lyon Biennale last fall.
Meanwhile, a new generative performance by Croatian artist Tomo Savić-Gecan, who represented his country in Venice last year, is among the live pieces at Art Basel this year. And a video made from images from the multidisciplinary exhibition “Natures Mortes” by Anne Imhof in 2021 at the Palais de Tokyo is presented in a presentation by Buchholz and Sprüth Magers.
Alex Da Corte ABB23, presented by Sadie Coles HQ and Matthew Marks Gallery. Photo: Courtesy of Art Basel.
The collector Alain Servais, who had attended most of these events, was hoping for other surprises. “It’s never the fair’s fault, it’s the buyers’ fault,” he said. “Galleries are going to bring in what they think they can sell.”
There are some bold new productions fresh from the studio at the fair, including a truly monumental work by French artist Jean-Marie Appriou, presented by a hard-hitting gallery cohort – Clearing, Massimo deCarlo, Jan Kaps, Perrotin and Eva Presenhuber.
The shimmering, weatherproof aluminum sculpture, titled Horizons (2023), features a towering ship carrying “exo-human” astronauts. Filled with regional, futuristic and ancient references, the work weighs 5,224 pounds (2,370 kilograms) and costs between €600,000 and €800,000 ($645,000 to $860,000).
The 2,370 kilogram aluminum sculpture by Jean-Marie Appriou Horizons (2023). Courtesy of Clearing, Massimo deCarlo, Jan Kaps, Perrotin and Eva Presenhuber. Photo: Tangui Beurdeley.
Scale meets legacy in Untitled (2005), featuring the largest painting ever by the late artist Günther Förg, who died in 2013, presented by Hauser & Wirth. And an installation by 77-year-old Antwerp artist Guillaume Bijl, Matratzentraum (2003-23), set up to look like a big-box mattress sale, brilliantly turns all of the fair’s VIPs floating there with their Birkin bags into discount shoppers.
“What proves today is that Art Basel is a pilgrimage for serious collectors,” noted Neil Wenman, global creative director and partner at Hauser & Wirth. He noted the welcome presence of collectors from Asia and America.
Check out some of the highlights of Art Basel Unlimited here.
by Monica Bonvicini Never again, presented by Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Peter Kilchmann Gallery and Krinzinger Gallery. Photo: Courtesy of Art Basel.
Guillaume Bijl Matratzentraum (2003-23). Presented by Nagel Draxler and Meredith Rosen. Pictured: Kate Brown.
Ursula Reuter Christiansen, presented by von Bartha. Photo: Courtesy of Art Basel.
Alvaro Barrington presented by Sadie Coles HQ. Photo: Courtesy of Art Basel.
Rirkrit Tiravanija, untitled (curry for the soul of the forgotten), (2014-2016). © Rirkrit Tiravanija. Courtesy of the artist and neugerriemschneider, Berlin. Photo: Sebastiano Pellion di Persano.
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