Basel Recap: Satellite Fairs- Volta

Take the experience I had at Liste and consider its opposite: that’s what Volta turned out to be. Engaging, lively, and friendly. Perhaps because it is located in a difficult part of the city to reach, it was great to feel like my presence was welcome. And of course, the art also impressed.

The intersection between historical subject matter and contemporary issues seemed to prevail at the fair.  As seen in Nandipha Mntambo’s hanging relief sculpture as well as in Alexander Tinei’s painting which intersected well with the scientific in Herwig Weiser’s Death before Disko and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s The Company of Colours. Also the edition artist of the fair was Troels Carlsen. His work was set apart from the other galleries and artists and given its own wall, much like at Robert Montgomery’s installation piece at the entrance of the Scope fair.

Death before Disko was particularly spellbinding. As I stood in front of the noisy and bright glass container, I realized that within the central area the very cold hardware was moving. The liquid was pulsating and it became very alive in my mind. When intersected with the electric sounds from below the contraption and warmth emitting from the sides, it felt like I was in the midst of a Frankenstein experiment. This very technological work was coming to life before my eyes.

After a few minutes I broke free from my trance and asked the gallerist some questions. She explained that the black ‘goo,’ for lack of a better term, dimples and spins due to a dual magnet pull. The gallery describes that the piece is meant to “return to the foundations of hardware” to “show how our relationship towards technology is more often emotional than rational.” Considering my initial reaction, I think the piece is rather successful. 

Herwig Weiser, Death before Disko, 2006

speaker, plexiglas,motor, magnetic liquide, light-emitting diode, pc

Galerie Colletpark, Paris

Nandipha Mntambo, Title and Date Unknown, cowhide, resin

Brodie/Stevenson, Johannesburg

Troels Carlsen, View of Several Works at Volta 

Alexander Tinei, Haircut, 2010

120 x 100 cm, Oil on Canvas

Erika Deák Gallery, Budapest

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, The Company of Colours, 2009,

Shadow Box 9, Edition 1 of 6, 1AP

High resolution interactive display with built-in computerized surveillance system

bitforms gallery, New York

Basel Recap: Satellite Fairs- Liste

Of all the art events during the Art Basel week, I was least impressed by the Liste art fair. Whether this is due to listening to the opinions of others prior to experiencing it, a particularly bad run-in with a gallery there, or the fact that I had all of 25 minutes to walk through the four-story labyrinth, I am not sure. All I can say is that I did not enjoy my time there. Unlike the Volta and Scope fairs that are still rather young and in the process of establishing themselves, but not as recognized as Art Basel, Liste celebrated its 15th anniversary and boasts that it is the fair for the young galleries and hip artists.

However, it would not be fair to say that none of it roused my interest. I was impressed by the limits that some of the galleries pushed in their spaces. Some of the galleries such as Harris Lieberman (New York), Kaskadenkondensator (Basel), Wilfried Lentz (Rotterdam) embraced and worked with the industrial design of the abandoned factory. This was not something I saw with regularity at Art Basel, Scope, or Volta.

Unfortunately, I do not have as many options for photographs as with the other fairs. This is mostly due to my lack of time, as I have mentioned. But also, I did not get the sensation that the galleries present were interested in answering questions or ‘dealing’ with a non-collector, non-curator graduate student who dabbles in blogging about art (read: non-journalist). So enjoy the limited images I have, form your own opinions, and if you have more questions take a look at Liste.

The following are some images I took of art spaces that were intriguing:

Oscar Tuazon, Title and Date Unknown

Gallery Unknown*

*Sorry Guys, I usually better at giving credit where credit is due, but I was in a rush to get back to work!

Basel Recap: Satellite Fairs- Scope

Along with Art Basel, which I will continue recapping throughout the month of July, there were plenty of satellite fairs in Basel. Of them, I attended Scope, Volta, and Liste. Here are a selection of images from Scope, the satellite fair I first attended. 

All in all I was really impressed by Scope. Unlike Art Basel, whose 40 year anniversary boasts a beautifully designed and enormous layout, Scope was a bare essentials kind of fair. Nonetheless, the younger art and galleries presented did not fail to make their mark in the space provided. I think what really struck me as a common theme in this fair was the intersections made between East and West, high and low, historical and mythical, etc. 

Mattia Biagi’s work deals with the intersection of faith and war. The mixed media sculptures, like Heaven and Hell, are meant to show the absurdity that drives parents to send their children to fight in wars, while they in turn sit at home and pray for their offspring's survival. In this piece the artist pushes this interplay further by mixing a classical sculpture with a black-tarred weapon. This same type of intersection continues in Kris Kuksi’s assemblages. The artist takes low (mass commodity) objects and forms them into history-laden surrealist sculptures, as seen in Colonel Wilhelm Von Howitzerhead. 

I wish I could continue talking about all the pieces I love, but I hear my thesis calling. Instead I will just add their images and stress how much I enjoyed Scope's galleries and artists, as well as the fair's no-frill, no-confusion environment. 

Photograph of the Fair Area, Kaserne, Basel

Mattia Biagi, Heaven and Hell

Year Unknown, Multimedia Sculpture

Holster Projects, London 

Kris Kuksi, Colonel Wilhelm Von Howitzerhead

2010, Mixed media assemblage, 32 x 30 x 12 in.

Joshua Liner Gallery, New York

Michal Macku, Glass Gellage III

Year Unknown, Glass, 

PaciArte Contemporary, Brescia

Scope Installation Artist 

Robert Montgomery 

THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE BECOME GHOSTS INSIDE OF YOU

 AND LIKE THIS YOU KEEP THEM ALIVE

 2009, Painted wood, LED lights and recycled sunlight

Courtesy of Analix Forever

Basel Recap: Art Basel

When I entered the Art Basel building, I knew immediately that I was out of my comfort zone and my league. It’s true that I love art, but my first impression was that this fair was what one would imagine if the Uffizi in Florence became a department store for art. Sure the art was impressive; there is no questioning that. But for someone new to this type of fair, it was overwhelming. 

So I did what any good assistant would do and followed my boss around like a lost puppy. Boy, am I glad I did. Not only did I learn the fine art of selective ‘gaze-walking,’ but also I was introduced to more art people than I have word count to list. 

In my jaw-dropped, frozen state my camera skills became non-existent. I apologize for the lack of images; most of the shots I took were to capture the essence of the fair and not so much the art. However, I don’t think I can be blamed for this methodology. Let me explain. I returned to the fair a couple more times during the week. As you can imagine, once was not enough. Each time I just was not able to focus on the art. There were too many people talking too much. Not just talking, schmoozing. The art lost value in this setting. It was just a commodity. As some of the artist and gallery owners reiterated to me, at the end of the day- Art Basel is a giant sale.

The last evening of the fair, while at the Art Basel Finale and then at the Art Basel dinner, I spoke to several artists of my sincere desire to walk through the fair with headphones on. They all agreed that it was a terrific idea. But it wasn’t just the sound of networking that was distracting; it was also the lack of interest and respect for the art.

Despite these drawbacks, I have no doubts I will return to the fair again. Why? Because, where else can you experience so much art created by artists from so many locations around the world. Also, the art is great and if you get a chance to be VIP, then you do get a few hours to search the fair grounds without the mobs.

(1) Gagosian Gallery; New York, Beverly Hills, London, Rome, Hong Kong
(2)White Cube; GB- London, Central Work: Damien Hirst, Anatomy of an Angel, 2008
(3)L&M Arts; US-New York, Central Work: Tom Friedman, Untitled (School Chair), 1992-2010
(4)Matthew Marks Gallery; US- New York, Central Work: Katharina Fritsch, Madonnafigur/ Madonna Figure, 1978/2009

Recap Basel: Public Art

Public art is FANTASTIC!

Okay, I know, I will elaborate on this opinion. Let’s get past the bureaucratic concerns about public art, public opinion, and what artists are allowed to do with tax payers money. It would take too long to discuss this and take time away from enjoying the public art at Art Basel/ Art Public and from Art Parcours. Both of these public art events are connected with Art Basel, but they are very different in their concepts. 

In front of the entrance to Art Basel and scattered throughout the giant pavilion at the Messeplatz were selected Art Public installations and happenings. It was nice to know that those who couldn’t afford the hefty price tag that came with the Art Basel entrance card, could still eat lunch next to Thomas Houseago’s Giant Giant and enjoy the random sounds escaping from Alberto Tadiello’s LK100A. 
Although I missed most of the happenings, I was pleasantly surprised by certain installations that I did not truly notice until the last few days, such as Eric Hatten’s Déplacement/version 2010 (aka a streetlamp). It caught me by surprise, and it was fun to see other spectators sitting or leaning against it- not noticing that all the while they were interacting with art.

Art Parcours was a scavenger hunt around the old center of the city set at nighttime. On this particular night it was cold and rainy. Not fun. But the scavenger-hunt for art was very fun. Although I had a pretty awful sore throat and was not dressed to ‘muddle through puddles,’ I sucked it up for the art.* And it was worth it. I bought a set of costume jewelry from Martha Rosler at her Fair Trade Garage Sale, I succeeded at achieving equilibrium with two other ‘viewers’ on Damien Ortega’s New Balance, and I enjoyed the sights and sounds of the eight other pieces (events). The two pieces which I thought were the most visually striking were Daniel Buren’s Colors on the Rhine and Angela Bulloch’s Night Sky: Mercury and Venus.

Ai WeiWei, Field, 2010

Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, Luzern

Thomas Houseago, Giant Giant, 2010

Xavier Hufkens, Bruxelles

Alberto Tadiello's LK100A, 2010

 T293, Naples

Damien Ortega, New Balance, 2010

City Hall, Court Yard

Angela Bulloch, Night Sky: Mercury and Venus, 2010

Münster Cathedral

Daniel Buren, Colors on the Rhine, work in situ 2010. 

Old University

Quick Note: All daytime pictures are Art Public events, while nighttime shots are Art Parcours.

*I was lucky enough to have been invited to a VIP Reception at the Kunstmuseum. Great food and a great collection, but my attire was not meant to go from parading around the halls of a vast museum to wadding through the cobbled paths of the city.