Art Basel 2024
Art Basel 2024, in its 54th edition, brings 285 galleries from 40 countries to Basel, Switzerland, presenting an impressive array of contemporary and modern art. While the global art market is grappling with concerns of stagnation, the atmosphere at the fair seems undeterred. The fair's standouts include both the traditional gallery format and more experimental segments such as the Parcours sector, a public art display curated by Stefanie Hessler.
Parcours takes art out of its usual spaces and into the urban environment. The exhibition challenges conventional venues, placing artworks in surprising settings like a bustling food court or a forgotten mall. The intent is clear: these installations engage directly with the real world, rather than isolating themselves in gallery walls. The piece by Lois Weinberger, a garden sprouting from the most ordinary of materials—plastic bags—is a testament to this. The juxtaposition of life growing in spaces of transit and neglect encapsulates much of the show’s philosophy. Tromarama’s sound-based installation in the Volkshaus Basel’s basement offers another captivating moment. Using the frequency of #nationality posts on social media, the piece captures the tension between identity and nationalism in the modern digital landscape.
Among other highlights, the Statements sector gives a platform to emerging artists with ambitious solo presentations. Sandra Poulson’s sculptures confront the omnipresence of AK-47s in Angola, while Teresa Baker’s textile works interweave materials as diverse as AstroTurf and buckskin. These exhibits prove that while Art Basel is a marketplace, it remains a stage for critical discourse.
Anna Uddenberg's installation Premium Economy offers perhaps the most jarring experience. Her sculptural performance blends everyday objects with gendered critiques in a setting reminiscent of an airport queue. Performers engage with her bizarre, pseudo-functional apparatuses in ways that leave onlookers both disturbed and mesmerized. This powerful piece hints at Art Basel's continuing relevance—it's not just a commercial fair but a platform for radical artistic statements.
The performance presents a disturbing critique of bodily commodification under capitalism. This installation, brought to life by performers, fuses elements of corporate sterility, medical equipment, and fetish aesthetics in an unsettling commentary on exploitation. Presented by Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler and Meredith Rosen Gallery, it challenges the viewer's comfort with the modern intersections of power, control, and desire.
Art Basel 2024 also stretches beyond the confines of the Messeplatz. The large-scale exhibition, When We See Us, hosted at the Kunstmuseum Basel, focuses on Black figuration, bringing depth to the broader conversation about race and representation in art. Curators Koyo Kouoh and Tandazani Dhlakama build a narrative of joy and strength, offering a powerful counterpoint to trauma-driven narratives.
words and photography DONALD GJOKA
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