BASEL.- For its 2023 edition in Basel, Art Basel will bring together 285 leading international galleries to present the highest quality artworks across all media – from painting and sculpture to photography and digital works – by artists ranging from early-twentieth-century Modern pioneers to contemporary practitioners. A strong line-up of galleries from across Europe will be joined by new and returning exhibitors from around the world.

The 2023 edition of Art Basel in Basel will feature 21 first-time participants, including three galleries entering directly into the main Galleries sector of the show: blank projects from Cape Town, Empty Gallery from Hong Kong and Offer Waterman from London. 18 galleries will join the fair for the first time in the Feature and Statements sectors.

First-time exhibitors in Feature:

• acb (Budapest)
• David Castillo (Miami)
• Thomas Erben Gallery (New York)
• Gajah Gallery (Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Singapore)
• M77 Gallery (Milan)
• Martos Gallery (New York)
• Jacky Strenz (Frankfurt)
• Galerie Bene Taschen (Cologne)

First-time exhibitors in Statements:

• Broadway (New York)
• Cooper Cole (Toronto)
• Gaga (Mexico City and Los Angeles)
• Hua International (Beijing and Berlin)
• Jhaveri Contemporary (Mumbai)
• LC Queisser (Tbilisi)
• Kendra Jayne Patrick (Bern and New York)
• sans titre (Paris)
• SMAC Art Gallery (Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Stellenbosch)
• Soft Opening (London)

Messeplatz

Art Basel will also stage a site-specific presentation by Moroccan, Swiss-based sculptor and installation artist Latifa Echakhch on the city’s Messeplatz, curated by Samuel Leuenberger, Curator for Parcours, Art Basel's sector for site-specific works. Echakhch, who represented Switzerland at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022, has a long tradition of working with deconstructed stages – the symbol of wreckage and ruins – to uncover the hope and possibilities that lie within them. A sprawling superstructure situated in the Messeplatz will act as the backdrop for a series of live concerts and performances organized in collaboration with Luc Meier, Director of La Becque Artist Residency. The musical acts interrogate the fundamentals of sound and music-making as a shared experience between the artist and the audience. Beyond the performances, the various islands and stage settings will be available for the public to sing, recite poetry, share knowledge, or simply come to rest.

In addition, the fair will host compelling presentations across its special sectors:

• Curated by Giovanni Carmine, Director of the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, Unlimited will feature around 70 large-scale installations and performances that transcend the dimensions of a traditional art fair booth.




• Curated by Samuel Leuenberger, founder of the non-profit exhibition spaces SALTS in Birsfelden and Country SALTS in Bennwil, Parcours will showcase about 20 site-specific installations around the Münsterplatz and the city center of Basel.

• Ushering in a new show layout, the Feature sector will now focus uniquely on art-historical projects.

• The Kabinett sector – a mainstay section at Art Basel's shows in Hong Kong and Miami Beach – will be introduced in the Basel edition for the first time, presenting exhibitors the opportunity to showcase concisely curated installations within their main booths.

Noah Horowitz, CEO, Art Basel, says: ‘I am incredibly excited to welcome the international art community to Basel in June for another premier edition of our show and my first as the organization's CEO. Ranging from bold contemporary positions to rare presentations by 20th-century icons, our Basel fair will once again reaffirm its pre-eminent position as a platform for discovery and encounters that drive the art world. The extraordinary breadth and quality of material within the halls will be accompanied by vibrant programming throughout the city and across its leading cultural institutions, underlining Basel's singular appeal and the show’s resonance at the heart of the global arts agenda.’

Vincenzo de Bellis, Director, Fairs and Exhibition Platforms, says: ‘With 21 newcomers, and 12 galleries newly entering the principal sector of the fair, this year's show feels particularly invigorated and rich in discoveries. I am truly awed by the scope and ambition of the presentations by exhibiting galleries, once again demonstrating the exceptional quality for which our show is known. Additionally, I am thrilled that internationally renowned artist Latifa Echakhch will take over the city's Messeplatz with her ambitious, interdisciplinary installation, inviting fair-goers and passers-by to rediscover the public dimension of the square.’

Galleries

The show's main sector will feature 241 of the world’s leading galleries, showcasing painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, photography, video, digital, and editioned works of the highest quality. Blank projects from Cape Town, Empty Gallery from Hong Kong, and Offer Waterman from London will join the fair for the first time, while the show welcomes back Galeria Dawid Radziszewski from Warsaw, who previously participated in the Galleries sector with a joint booth in 2021, and Gallery Hyundai from Seoul, returning to the show after a hiatus.

Nine galleries that previously have exhibited in Feature or Statements will graduate into the main sector, showcasing the full range of their program, including: Clearing with exhibition spaces in Brussels, Los Angeles, and New York; Croy Nielsen from Vienna; Hamiltons from London; Jan Kaps from Cologne; Galerie Knoell from Basel; mor charpentier with exhibition spaces in Bogotá and Paris; Galleria Lorcan O'Neill Roma with exhibition spaces in Rome and Venice; Deborah Schamoni from Munich; and Galerie Barbara Thumm from Berlin.

Feature

Now focusing uniquely on art-historical projects, the sector will feature curated presentations from 16 galleries, including 8 first-time exhibitors. Highlights from the sector include a re-staging of Colette Lumiere’s 1977 performance ‘sleep,’ presented by Company Gallery; an immersive project by Brazilian artist Ana Amorim from 1991, presented by Millan and shown internationally for the first time; Jamel Shabazz’s street photography from the 1980s, presented by Galerie Bene Taschen; and a survey of works on paper spanning from 1915 to 1979 by artist Sonia Delaunay, presented by Galerie Zlotowski.

Statements

Dedicated to emerging artists from across the globe, this year Statements will feature 18 solo presentations and welcome 10 new entries. Highlights from the sector include an immersive sculptural-video installation titled ‘Rare Tilt’ by Chinese artist Stella Zhong, presented by Chapter NY; and a series of new sculptures by the American sculptor and performer Gordon Hall, presented by newcomer Hua International. Additional highlights include an immersive installation by Georgian artist Tolia Astakhishvili, presented by newcomer LC Queisser; and SMAC Art Gallery’s presentation of a new, never-before-seen work by South African artist Bonolo Kavula, known for her monumental, intricate tapestry work.

The 24th Annual Baloise Art Prize, comprising a cash prize of CHF 30,000 per winner, will be awarded to up to two artists exhibiting in Statements, with recipients to be announced at Art Basel's media reception. In addition, the Baloise Group will acquire works by the selected artists to donate to two leading European museums, which will hold solo exhibitions of the artists’ works.

Edition

Spread across both floors of Hall 2, the sector will feature 10 leading galleries in the field of prints and editioned works: Borch Editions, Cristea Roberts Gallery, Gemini G.E.L., knust kunz gallery editions, Carolina Nitsch, Paragon, René Schmitt, Susan Sheehan Gallery, STPI, and Two Palms. Cristea Roberts Gallery will showcase ‘Connections’ by Anni Albers on the Spotlight wall facing the Rundhof.