Art Basel 2023: 4 Highlights from the Global Art Event

The highly anticipated annual art event Art Basel returns to its original home, Basel, Switzerland, in 2023. It brings together a wide range of major galleries and museums from 36 different countries, the fair promises to blend the world’s most dynamic art underneath one thought-provoking rooftop. The strength of Art Basel lies in its international diversity, bringing together the cream of the artistic crop from every corner of the globe. From contemporary pioneers to contemporary artists, the featured artists span a wide range of styles, styles and perspectives.

Among the attendees, 21 galleries are making their debuts at the event, adding creativity and innovation to the mix. 2023 Art Basel in Basel is proud to welcome 21 people for the first time, injecting new energy into the vibrant art scene. First-time exhibitors range from renowned galleries such as Empty Projects from Cape Town, Empty Gallery from Hong Kong and Offer Waterman from London, to budding galleries making their mark on offers means and details.

Spotlight on Newcomers

In the feature and statement arena, first-time exhibitors are causing a stir by offering fresh ideas and artwork. From acb in Budapest to Soft Opening in London, these newcomers reflect a rich blend of culture, creativity and vision.

The fair extends beyond traditional exhibition spaces. Art Basel will feature a site-specific installation by Moroccan, Swiss artist Latifa Echakhch, situated right at the city’s Messeplatz. This ambitious project aims to engage with the public in a new and exciting way, further blurring the line between artist and audience. Art Basel in 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of legendary painter Pablo Picasso. The exhibitions provide an opportunity to revisit Picasso’s masterpieces, explore installations, and explore criticism of his lasting impact From traditional exhibitions to programs that uniquely, Art Basel will honor Picasso’s legacy in unique and interesting ways.

Sandra Mujinga Kóko 2089 (2023) Croy Nielsen

Sandra Muzinga, a Congolese-Norwegian artist aged 34, creates eye-catching monuments and commissions. These works engrave themselves in your mind. They appear as phantom-like objects made of steel and concrete, coated in fake leather. They can symbolize the grim ghosts of colonialism. Simultaneously, the artist sees herself as a character in an alternate future. The title of one such piece, priced at €55,000, is taken from the Lingala language. It means ‘old guardian’. The artist has set this work in the year 2089. It is a time when human and animal forms have amalgamated into a new entity. Her work often features at exhibitions and conferences, where it is highlighted by striking digital lighting. A recent example was her show at the Venice Biennale. At times, she includes elements of sound or games, or ventures into the realm of video art.

Her work has captivated curators everywhere: she was the recipient of the 2021 Preis der Nationalgalerie in Germany, recently featured in a collective exhibition at MoMA, and will be part of an upcoming show, “Going Dark: The Contemporary Figure at the Edge of Visibility,” scheduled at the Guggenheim Museum in New York this coming December. The unexpected encounter with her work, eerily gracing the outer rim of Art Basel’s second floor at Vienna’s Croy Nielsen gallery booth, is a highlight of the fair.

ABB23, Galleries, Annely Juda Fine Art, Public Interactions, PR

David Hockney 25th June 2022, Looking at the Flowers (Framed) (2022) Annely Juda Fine Art

During the global lockdown, David Hockney found solace in his Normandy home and studio, indulging in his enduring passions—nature, art history, and of course, technological innovation He took to and iPad digitally created a collection of 20 still flowers, with a close resemblance to Matisse’s style.

These floral paintings made their debut as a vibrant symbol of hope on the cover of Die Welt in May 2021, following a terrible winter. Later, the Musée Matisse in Nice showcased these works in an exhibition. In a grand follow-up artwork conceived a year later, Hockney depicts himself pondering over this series as it adorns the wall. Crafted as a digital amalgamation of hundreds of photos, Hockney describes this avant-garde progression of his longstanding fascination with photo collages as a “photographic drawing.” The piece showcases not one, but two Hockneys, with one puffing on his trademark Camel cigarettes, packets of which sit on the coffee table atop folded editions of his Die Welt issue. He scrutinizes the still-life series. One can only wonder what thoughts are coursing through his mind.

This artwork is another assertion by the undeniably indefatigable 85-year-old artist, spanning 17 feet across five pages mounted on DeBond—an impressive size that might put potential buyers off their foothold for a short time, despite its high price. (This book is from the 15th edition and is priced at $350,000.) Guess how big Hockney can get? Just take a look at his extensive immersive program in the London Lightroom space, on view through October, where his enormous artistic ambition can leave you feeling humbled and overwhelmed.

Ugo Rondinone x Roger Federer (2022), Galerie Eve Presenhuber

In this year’s Art Basel, the gallery shows Ugo Rondinone’s sculpture, ‘humanskysix’ (2022).

Interestingly, the artist shaped this unique sculpture from the physique of Swiss tennis legend, Roger Federer. Art lovers can admire this exceptional piece at booth P5 in Hall 2.1. To begin with, Federer, a Basel native, collaborated with his compatriot, Ugo Rondinone, for this ambitious installation named ‘human clouds’. Subsequently, this project became the third part of the trilogy ‘burn shine fly’. This trilogy serves as a commemorative exhibition of life, capturing its various seasons, rhythms, and elements of nature.

Agnes Scherer, Sans titre

At Art Basel, Sans titre is debuting the work of Agnes Scherer, a German artist born in 1985. This sculpture represents a giant laptop computer, specifically created for the fair. This work is an extension of a series that Scherer first thought of for her solo exhibition. The exhibition was named The Notebook Simulations. Eva Birkenstock curated it at The Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf in 2021. Scherer’s creations are unique. They blend paintings with handmade artifacts, forming extensive, detailed installations. Her approach allows her to create complex visual art. This art defies quick categorization and commercialization. Instead, it requires a higher level of focus and interaction from viewers.

Scherer’s work uses anachronisms and universally recognized symbols. It highlights the strange ways in which historical systems, economies, and societal roles persist in today’s world. At Art Basel 2023, her work is displayed at Sans titre’s booth. The flat screen of her large laptop sculpture becomes a theatrical stage. On this stage, computer windows, similar to paintings, are manipulated by angelic figures.

These angels are consistent with Scherer’s other works. They act as mysterious cosmic puppeteers of fate. They transform humans and their concerns into parts of an ever-changing puppet show. A painting showing the artist catching a falling star is taken off the stage. A painted jpeg on the right echoes a famous Renaissance woodcut. This woodcut depicts a puzzling celestial event over Basel – the “stars of Basel”. Like previous works, this recent laptop painting combines elements of “contemporary folklore”, usually found in digital spaces, with lasting historical myths.

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