press summary 2013

Transcription

press summary 2013

monday, June 10th — saturday, June 15th 2013
Basel’s cutting-edge art fair for new and emerging art
PRESS SUMMARY 2013
Page 1
FACTS
Exhibitors:74 Galleries
Location:DREISPITZHALLE
Dreispitz Areal, Tor / Gate 13
Helsinki-Strasse 5
CH-4142 Basel / Münchenstein
Switzerland
Exhibition Period:
June 10–15, 2013
VOLTA Team:
Artistic DirectorAmanda Coulson
Managing DirectorChris De Angelis
Project Manager
Kerstin Herd
Project CoordinatorRachel Mijares Fick
Press ManagerBrian Fee
Founding Year:2005
Founders: Kavi Gupta, Chicago
Friedrich Loock, Berlin
Ulrich Voges, Frankfurt
Press Contact:: Brian Fee
Press Manager
[email protected]
Page 2
QUOTES
Die VOLTA hat sich im Kielwasser der Art Basel [...] mit Erfolg als Plattform junger Galerien etabliert und setzt ihren
Erfolgskurs auch dieses Jahr zügig fort.
VOLTA [...] has established itself successfully in the wake of Art Basel as a platform for young galleries and
continues its successful course this year at a fast pace.
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Insgesamt besticht die Messe mit 74 ausstellenden Galerien aus der ganzen Welt durch ihre schlichte Eleganz.
Die Stände sind sorgfältig inszeniert, klar strukturiert und laden zum Verweilen ein. Auch qualitativ können
die ausgestellten Werke überzeugen. Diese Faktoren und die gedeckteren Farben verleihen der VOLTA einen
ernsthaften Unterton.
Overall the show, featuring 74 exhibiting galleries from all over the world, is captivating for its simple elegance. The
booths are carefully staged, clearly structured and invite you to linger. The exhibited works are also qualitatively
convincing. These factors and the muted colors give the VOLTA a serious undertone.
Basler Zeitung
Die Tatsache, dass zahlreiche der hier vertretenen Künstler bereits an einer Biennale in Venedig teilgenommen
haben, zeugt auch hier von dem hohen Qualitätsstandard.
The fact that many of the artists being presented here have already exhibited at the Venice Biennale indicates the
level of quality.
kunnst
Die Internationalität der Galeristen, die die VOLTA bespielten, musste sich nicht hinter der großen Art Basel
verstecken.
The exhibitors’ internationality at VOLTA did not take a back seat to Art Basel.
Kunstmarkt
Manchmal plakativ, manchmal kleinteilig, manchmal dezent, manchmal knallig. Die VOLTA9, erneut in der
Dreispitzhalle untergebracht, hält sich insgesamt doch sehr zurück. Was der Messe allerdings sehr gut tut [...], sie
wirkt kuratiert.
Sometimes bold, sometimes detailed, sometimes subtle, sometimes loud. VOLTA9, housed once again in
Dreispitzhalle, is very much restrained. But this is to the fair‘s benefit... it feels curated.
Tageswoche
Le plus important étant [pour VOLTA] de réserver le salon aux galeries-mères, autrement dit, les galeries dont la
vocation est d‘accompagner la construction de ses artistes – versus une simple représentation.
The most important thing [for VOLTA] is to be a space for “mother galleries”, i.e. the galleries whose mission is to
truly support the initial career of emerging artists – as opposed to merely representing them.
L‘AGEFI
You know you’re at an international art fair when you see people in some art fair city that you only ever see in, well,
some art fair city. Like a travelling circus, the art world moves on from New York to Basel to London to Miami etc.
like an eternally recurring ouroboros caravan. And what does this mean? This means VOLTA is doing its job by
attracting the best of the art world.
STATE MEDIA
Page 3
INDEX
kunnst
Jung, innovativ, außergewöhnlich
Page
5
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Kunstrummel rund um die Art Basel
Page
6
ARTINFO
5 Key Art Basel Satellite Fairs — What You Need to Know
Page
7
ARTRIBUNE
Basilea. L’arte torna a casa
Page
8
L‘AGEFILes vocations très distinctes des satellites d’Art Basel
Page
9
ARTINFO
VOLTA9 Opens Strong, Despite Its Competition
Page 12
Basler ZeitungStartschuss zur Basler Art-Woche
Page 13
Basler Zeitung
Kunst. Anspielungen. VOLTA9 im Dreispitz
Page 14
Basler ZeitungTanzende Flaschengeister an der VOLTA9
Page 15
STATE MEDIADISPATCHES Basel 2013 – Zavier Ellis reports from Basel
Page 18
telebaselBasel im Kunst-FieberPage 27
THE ART NEWSPAPER
Power of one
Page 28
Arterritory
Blog From The Basel Art Week: Baltic Artists At VOLTA And Liste Page 30
TageswochePlakative DezenzPage 33
TageswocheUngeführte IdeenPage 35
Neue Zürcher ZeitungDie VOLTA9 in Basel. Erwachsenes Profil
Page 37
artmagazineSintflut - BilderflutPage 38
Basler ZeitungSchwarz ist Trumpf Page 40
TageswocheFreude herrscht!?Page 42
artlyst
Beyond Basel A Final Glance At 2013
Page 44
KunstmarktNach der Messe geht’s weiter
Page 45
Page 4
Media
kunnst DateSummer 2013
Title
Jung, innovativ, außergewöhnlich
Author
Karin GerwensPublished
quarterly
Young, innovative,
extraordinary
In Art Basel’s slipstream
Whoever is on the hunt for
insiders’ tips and finds innovative
and emerging art exciting, they’re
in good hands at the satellite art
fairs – like Liste, the Young Art
Fair in Basel, VOLTA and Scope.
Each one of these alternative fairs
has its own clear character and
presents current art positions on
a high level. What’s on offer here in
contemporary art are exhibitions
of less famous but nonetheless
high-quality international artists
and galleries.
[…]
VOLTA is another fair for new
and promising art. A yearly
changing
curatorial
board
provides each fair a unique,
distinctive character and the
fact that many of the artists
being presented here have
already exhibited at the Venice
Biennale indicates the level of
quality. At VOLTA the artists,
who are often presented in
solo shows, are the center of
attention and the fair focuses on
the innovative orientation of its
international artists. VOLTA, this
year, is in its ninth edition.
Page 5
Media
Neue Zürcher Zeitung DateJune 8, 2013
Title
Kunstrummel rund um die Art Basel
Author
Philipp MeierPublished
daily
Art Hype around Art Basel
Satellite fairs, together with numerous high-quality museum exhibitions, surround the art fair in Basel
[...]
VOLTA Show – More young art
VOLTA show is another satellite fair that takes place parallel to Art Basel and this year it’s in its ninth edition. Every
year the fair gets lots of attention as a platform for young dealers and their exciting art programs. Daring solo
presentations are not uncommon at this far, which is always good for discoveries.
Page 6
Media
ARTINFO DateJune 9, 2013
Title
Author
Charlie AmblerPublished
Website
Said Atabekov’s “Korpeshe Flags #11,” 2011, will be shown at VOLTA
[...]
VOLTA
June 10–15
Dreispitzhalle
Unlike its New York counterpart, the Swiss edition of VOLTA, in its ninth incarnation, does not limit its 74
exhibitors to solo shows in their booths; still, many of the participants are mounting focused presentations to
better introduce their emerging talents. Purdy Hicks Gallery, of London, is featuring tiny C-types by Bettina
von Zwehl, such as Made Up Love Song Part 7, 2011. Spain comes out swinging, with Alarcón Criado of
Seville juxtaposing the spatial investigations of Nicolas Grospierre and Alejandra Laviada; and Galería Visor
of Valencia offers a four-way show of Hamish Fulton, Nil Yalter, Braco Dimitrijevic, and this year’s Hasselblad
Award winner Joan Fontcuberta.
Page 7
Media
ARTRIBUNE
DateJune 9, 2013
Title
Author
Francesco Sala
Published
Website
Esaurite le puntate in giro per il mondo, tra Florida ed Estremo
Oriente, Art Basel torna in Svizzera. Ai nastri di partenza una nuova
edizione della madre di tutte le fiere d’arte, affollata dalla logica e
frizzante serie di eventi più o meno accessori.
Dopo il sole di Miami, smaltito il fuso orario di Hong Kong, Art
Basel si ripresenta nella sua consueta – anzi, rinnovata – cornice
svizzera. Appuntamento da giovedì 13 a lunedì 16 giugno nei
padiglioni recentemente oggetto del restyling griffato Herzog & de
Meuron: trecento le gallerie ospiti della regina di tutte le fiere, fitto il
programma di talk e dibattiti. Con buona partecipazione da parte di
nomi italiani, a partire da Massimiliano Gioni che intervista Thomas
Schütte e arrivando a Massimo Minini che se la chiacchiera con
Dan Graham, in un involontario triangolo tra artista, curatore e
gallerista. I riflettori sono naturalmente puntati sul main event, ma
come ogni astro che si rispetti Art Basel non manca di irradiare di luce riflessa tutta l’altra ressa di fiere accessorie, eventi
collaterali, padiglioni satellite: conviene mettere ordine e vedere cosa bolle in pentola.
[...]
Nelle intenzioni è un trampolino di lancio per giovani artisti anche VOLTA 9, che scalda i motori in vista dell’edizione
del decennale chiamando a raccolta nei padiglioni della Dreispitzhalle, nel cuore del distretto industriale della città,
74 gallerie in arrivo da ogni angolo del globo. Da Roma ecco la Galleria Marie-Laure Fleisch, da Milano Federico
Bianchi e Laura Bulian – quest’ultima con la personale del kazako Said Atabekov – da Firenze Eduardo Secci. La
special edition di VOLTA, che ogni anno produce un multiplo tirato in venticinque esemplari, porta questa volta
la firma dell’inglese Hamish Fulton: omaggio al Dalai Lama e all’irrisolta questione del Tibet il suo Exiled Potala,
accaparrabile alla ragionevole cifra di duemila euro.
Basel. Art is coming home
After its installments around the world, between Florida and the Far East, Art Basel returns to Switzerland. A new
edition of the mother of all art fairs is in the starting blocks, surrounded by a logical and sparkling series of more or less
accessory events.
After the Sun of Miami, having survived the Hong Kong jet-lag, Art Basel returns in its usual Swiss context – which has
actually undergone a complete make-over. From Thursday 13 to Monday June 16 in the pavilions recently restyled by
Herzog & de Meuron: three-hundred galleries hosted by the queen of all fairs, along with a packed program of talks and
panel discussions. With a positive participation of Italian representatives, from Massimiliano Gioni interviewing Thomas
Schütte to Massimo Minini chatting with Dan Graham, an involuntary triangle including artists, curators and gallerists.
The spotlights are obviously focused on the main event, but like a true star, Art Basel can not help but reflect its light on
a whole series of parallel fairs, collateral events, satellite pavilions: it’s definitely worth to try to put some order into the
matter, and see what’s cooking.
[…]
VOLTA9, revving its engines shortly before its decennial edition, equally aspires to be a springboard for emerging artists,
and invites 74 galleries from every corner of the world to its Dreispitzhalle-pavilions, deep in the heart of the city’s
industrial district. From Rome, Galleria Marie-Laure Fleisch, from Milan Federico Bianchi and Laura Bulian – the latter
featuring a Said Atabekov solo show – and from Florence, Eduardo Secci. The VOLTA limited edition, is produced by
Hamish Fulton this year and limited to twenty-five copies: a homage to the Dalai Lama and the unresolved problem of
Tibet. His EXILED POTALA can be had for an affordable two-thousand euro.
Page 8
Media
L‘AGEFI DateJune 11, 2013
Title
Les vocations très distinctes des satellites d’Art Basel 1/2
Author
Stéphane Gachet
Published
Website
Les vocations très distinctes des satellites d’Art Basel
VOLTA. Les salons secondaires affichent leur complémentarité. Avec des écarts de modèles visibles et persistants.
Art Basel ouvre ses portes à la presse aujourd’hui, mardi, mercredi aux VIP et jeudi au grand public. Les rendezvous satellites ont ouvert leurs portes hier, lundi, dans une affluence sans excès. La présence de ces salons
secondaires est déjà ancienne. Les événements font clairement partie du parcours institutionnel de la semaine
art bâloise. Avec des formules bien établies, présentant toutes une forte vocation internationale, mais des écarts
considérables. Le plus ancien événement toujours actif est Liste. Une concentration de juvénilité: réservé aux
galeries de moins de trois ans d’existence et aux artistes de moins de quarante ans. Probablement le plus à la
pointe de la nouvelle création. Certainement l’exposition la plus chaotique, caractérisée par l’absence de tout
standard de présentation et de sélection, hors numerus clausus et jeunesse des opérateurs. Un genre en soi,
en grande partie dicté par les lieux: l’ancien site brassicole Wartek, un enchevêtrement de couloirs et de poches
transformées en salle de monstration. Un peu plus de 60 galeries s’y disputent l’espace, dans un amoncellement
d’œuvres difficiles à distinguer. Pas forcément flatteur pour les artistes, se laisse-t-on à entendre en coulisse. Tous
les moyens d’expression se côtoient, se complètent ou s’annulent complètement. L’aspect général reste celui
d’une tentative, plus rarement d’une tentation, même si le principal est sauf: être à Bâle pendant Art Basel.
Liste est plus souvent considéré comme un galop d’essai avant l’entrée dans un satellite plus ordonné, à l’exemple
de Volta. L’événement a été lancé il y a 9 ans, en réaction précisément aux limitations imposées par le règlement de
Liste. Depuis plusieurs éditions, le rendez-vous a trouvé ses marques définitives – sauf en termes de lieu, puisqu’il
sera question d’un déménagement pour l’édition 2014 (à nouveau, la direction l’ayant déjà évoqué pour 2013).
A savoir une approche sélective basée sur un certain nombre de critères. Le plus important étant de réserver le
salon aux galeries-mères, autrement dit, les galeries dont la vocation est d’accompagner la construction de ses
artistes – versus une simple représentation.
Le programme fait état de 74 galeries cette année, soit un peu moins qu’en 2012 (81 exposants). Un choix selon
la direction, qui va dans le sens de meilleures conditions en termes de surface d’accrochage et de visibilité.
Contrairement à Liste et dans un esprit clairement plus proche d’Art Basel, les galeries bénéficient d’une structure
standard et de stands bien balisés. Les galeries se représentent pour la plupart plusieurs éditions de suite. Avec
l’apparition de nouveaux venus. On note en particulier cette année la présence de deux galeries de Corée du
Sud. La Suisse en revanche a perdu un représentant et ne tient que deux stands cette année. Le management
affiche aussi une grande régularité. Une douzaine de collaborateurs gèrent les deux éditions par année, Volta New
York et Bâle. La directrice artistique et le directeur de production, respectivement la quarantaine et la trentaine,
collaborent depuis plus de cinq ans.
La sélection, à l’instar d’Art Basel, se fait sur dossier, chaque galerie établissant un programme. Les options vont
des petits groupes d’artistes – en général pas plus de trois – à l’exposition solo. Donnant au final l’impression
d’une grande lisibilité - supérieure sur ce point à Art Basel. Autre élément de distinction, plusieurs galeries invitent
les artistes sur le salon. Un avantage (surtout quand le talent communicationnel le permet) pour comprendre un
travail. Adam Mysock par exemple, peintre américain de trente ans, représenté par la galerie Jonathan Ferrara à la
Nouvelle Orléans. Sur le stand, des œuvres de petits formats, représentations figuratives à la facture très soignée
(il compte 400 coups de pinceau au centimètre carré). Acrylique sur panneau. Des sujets éclectiques, collages
de références: Lincoln, l’enterrement à Ornans de Courbet, la planète mars, la lune, un camp indien au bord du
Mississipi. Adam Mysock, fend sa barbe rousse et épaisse pour tout expliquer: le goût de la parabole, du mythe,
de la fiction, du retournement. «Je revisite l’histoire. Mon point de départ est toujours un sentiment négatif.»
Dialogue plus minimaliste avec Ken Matsubara, galerie MA2 à Tokyo. L’artiste expose son exploration de la
mémoire, personnelle, familiale, collective. Des écrans format tablette et smart phone placés dans des écrins,
Page 9
Media
Title
Les vocations très distinctes des satellites d’Art Basel 2/2
Author
Stéphane Gachet
Published
Website
cloche de verre, boîte en bois et en fer blanc. Une série d’anciens postes télé portables des années 1980. Un
souvenir d’enfance à la mer. Une tempête dans un verre d’eau, symbole du tsunami. L’artiste a 63 ans. Il expose
pour la troisième fois à Volta.
Deux éclairages qui recadrent la vocation de découvertes du salon. Un point sensible pour la direction, qui n’a
pas d’autre choix que d’assumer la complémentarité avec Art Basel. Volta accueille régulièrement près de 15.000
visiteurs, quatre fois moins que la fréquentation d’Art Basel. La direction table sur un score semblable cette année.
Peut être soutenu par l’ouverture de l’exposition Steve McQueen, artiste vidéaste britannique majeur dans sa
génération (44 ans), qui se tient au prestigieux Schaulager à quelques rues du salon, dans le quartier industriel du
Dreispitz.
VOLTA. The accompanying fair reveals its complementary nature with clearly visible and persisting models.
Art Basel opens its doors to the press today, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to the VIP public. The
satellites opened yesterday, Monday, in a quiet rush without excess. The presence of these alternative shows is
already entrenched. The events are an established part of the institutional course of the week at Art Basel. With
clearly defined formulas, they all bear a strong international leaning but differ significantly. The oldest active event is
Liste. A concentration of youthfulness: restricted to galleries under three years old and artists under forty. Perhaps
the most advanced show in the arena of new creativity. Certainly the most chaotic, characterized by the absence
of any standard of presentation and selection, without confirmations and with young operators. A genre in itself,
it is largely dictated by its location: the old Wartek brewery, a tangle of corridors and pockets of rooms turned
into exhibition spaces. A little more than 60 galleries are competing for space in a pile of indistinguishable works.
Not very flattering for the artists, is what’s murmured behind the scenes. All means of expression mash together,
complement or vanish completely. The general appearance is that of an attempt, more rarely a temptation, even
if the main objective is safe: to be in Basel during Art Basel.
Liste is more often seen as a trial run before entering a more ordered satellite, such as VOLTA. This event was
launched nine years ago, precisely in response to the limitations imposed by Liste. For several editions now, the
event has found its clear profile — except in terms of a fixed place, since it will probably have to move for the 2014
edition. Its profile is based on a selective approach based on a number of criteria. The most important thing is to
be a space for “mother galleries”, i.e. the galleries whose mission is to truly support the initial career of emerging
artists — as opposed to merely representing them.
The program includes 74 galleries this year, slightly less than in 2012 (81 exhibitors). A choice made by the
director, and in line with the best conditions in terms of available surface and visibility. Unlike Liste and in a spirit
clearly more in line with Art Basel, the galleries have a standard structure and well-marked booths. The galleries
usually remain with the fair for several editions, with the addition of newcomers. This year, in particular, we noted
the presence of two galleries from South Korea. Switzerland, in return, lost one of its representatives and has only
two booths this year. The management also shows great regularity. A dozen employees manage both editions in
the year, VOLTA NY and Basel. The Artistic Director and Managing Director, respectively in their forties and thirties,
have worked together for well over five years.
Page 10
Media
Title
Les vocations très distinctes des satellites d’Art Basel [Translation]
Author
Stéphane Gachet
Published
Website
The selection, like at Art Basel is organized through the acceptance of dossiers and applications, each gallery
clarifying their programmed exhibition. Options range from small groups of artists — usually no more than three —
and solo displays. The final impression is one of legibility, superior in this even than at Art Basel. Another element of
distinction: several galleries invite their artists to the show. An advantage (especially whenever their communicative
talent allows) to better understand the work. Adam Mysock, for example, a thirty-year-old American painter,
represented by Jonathan Ferrara Gallery in New Orleans. On the stand, figurative, small-format works, are a
meticulously crafted achievement (each contain 400 strokes per square centimetre). Acrylic on board. Eclectic
subjects, a collage of references: Lincoln, Courbet’s “A Funeral at Ornans”, the planet Mars, the moon, an Indian
camp on the Mississippi. Adam Mysock, splits his thick red beard to explain: the savor of parable, of myth, of
fiction, or reversal. “I revisit history. My starting point is always a negative feeling.”
A more minimalist dialogue with Ken Matsubara, at MA2 Gallery from Tokyo. The artist describes his exploration
of personal, familial, and collective memory. Tablet screens and smartphones placed in caskets, bell jars, wooden
boxes or tins. A series of old portable TV sets from the 80s. A childhood memory of the sea. A tempest in a glass
of water, symbolizing the tsunami. The artist is 63 years old. This is his third time at VOLTA.
Two highlights that underscore the potential for discovery at the show. Indeed, this is the mission of its committee,
which has no choice but to assume a complementary stance to Art Basel. VOLTA regularly hosts nearly 15,000
visitors, four times less than the attendance at Art Basel. Management expects a similar score this year. This will
most likely be supported by the concurrent opening of the exhibition of 44-year old British videographer Steve
McQueen’s exhibition, held at the prestigious Schaulager, just a few blocks from the fair, in the industrial district
of Dreispitz.
Page 11
Media
ARTINFO DateJune 11, 2013
Title
VOLTA9 Opens Strong, Despite Its Competition
Author
Alexander Forbes
Published
Website
The ninth edition of Volta in Basel opened at the Dreispitzhalle on Monday to an audience made up mostly of
dealers, rather than the top collectors that have flocked to the satellite in previous years ahead of Unlimited’s
Monday afternoon opening and Art Basel’s preview on Tuesday. Many of the 74 international gallerists represented
at the fair blamed the thin crowds on an overload of Monday midday offerings — Design Miami/Basel, SCOPE
Basel, and Liste all opened around the same time as Volta9.
Still, the competition seemed to do little or nothing to diminish sales. Galleries from Copenhagen, of which there
are eight this year, did especially well in the early hours, perhaps due to the relatively eye-catching works among
their offerings. Jesper Elg of V1 Gallery was particularly bullish after selling two John Copeland oil and acrylic
paintings on vintage Playboy covers. “We always do well here; it’s good to be back,” he says. The gallery will
present three two-day exhibitions over the course of Volta9. Elg’s next-door neighbor and fellow Copenhagener
David Risley reported sales of several of Charlie Roberts’s “100 Snake Sticks,” 2013, a tempting impulse buy for
many at $200 a pop or 10 for $1,000. Helen Frik’s naïve ceramics, a central installation in the booth, were also a
hot item in early hours.
Spanish galleries showed up in full force, presenting some of the fair’s subtlest and most sophisticated booths.
Valencia’s espaivisor – Galería Visor is showing mostly photography, with special focus on works from the late ’60s
and early ’70s by Sarajevo-born conceptualist Braco Dimitrijevíc and the 2013 Hasselblad Award winner Joan
Fontcuberta. For “Sputnik,” 1997, she created documentation about the covered-up death of fictional cosmonaut
Ivan Istochnikov, pilot of Soyuz 2 (a spacecraft that was actually unmanned, at least according to official records).
One of the highest-profile Spanish galleries is a consolidation of the Madrid firms of Raquel Ponce, José Robles,
and Eva Ruiz, who joined forces to create the PRO Gallery just two months ago, in hopes of weathering their
country’s economic woes. “Galleries that want to survive in Madrid have to travel a lot,” says Ruiz, who now runs
the trio’s international outreach efforts. “By doing so and minimizing our costs in Madrid and the number of artists
we show, we believe we’ll survive.”
Particularly noteworthy among PRO’s offerings is a wall piece by Almudena Lobera, “Lectura superficial”
(“Superficial Reading”), 2012–2013, which displays sculptural versions of must-read texts for the art intellectual
(or pseudo-intellectual): Dante, Kafka, Deleuze, Calvino, Marguerite Duras, and Thomas Bernhard, among others.
Several collectors were vying for the piece. Elsewhere, New York’s Ethan Cohen, back at Volta after six years at
SCOPE Basel, sold an American collector a Michael Zelehoski painting in which a shipping crate is flattened into
the picture plane. And one of Volta9’s 16 first-time participants, Gallery Skape, from Seoul, had success with
works by Myeongbeom Kim, including “Play,” a 2010 sculpture that combines a vintage tennis racket with the
skeleton of a violin; it sold for $7,000.
Page 12
Media
Basler Zeitung
DateJune 11, 2013
Title
Startschuss zur Basler Art-Woche
Author
–Published
daily
Starting shot for Basel’s art week
LISTE, Art Unlimited and several satellite fairs opened
Basel – No less than five art fairs opened yesterday, a prelude to Art Basel’s vernissage for invited guests on
Wednesday. From Thursday onwards, Art Basel will be open to the public. Yesterday LISTE 18 received its VIP
guests at Warteck, followed by a vernissage and a party in the evening.
VOLTA9 at Dreispitzhalle, Scope Basel at Klybeckquai and Design Miami at Messehalle 1 opened as well. The
Swiss Art Awards unveiled its exhibition of prize-winning artworks honored by the Federal Office of Arts, as well
as Art Unlimited, directed by Gianni Jetzer, began the one-week art festival with lots of champagne: the carpet for
the Basel art week of superlatives is rolled out.
Basel museums presented specially conceived exhibitions a week ahead of Art Basel: Maurizio Cattelan, Ed
Rusche, and Zilvinas Kempinas, among others.
[…]
Page 13
Media
Basler Zeitung
DateJune 11, 2013
Title
Kunst. Anspielungen. VOLTA9 im Dreispitz
Author
–Published
daily
Art. Allusions. VOLTA9 at Dreispitz
Hamish Fulton (espaivisor – Galería Visor, Valencia) creates a limited
edition for VOLTA 9. The works of the London-based “Walking
Artist” have been exhibited at MOCA in Los Angeles, among others.
Outside the entrance to Dreispitzhalle, Cameron Platter’s sculpture
“Advertising Tombstone Wall” is unveiled. The engraved lettering
refers to advertising brochures promising purchasable health.
In addition to the wide range of positions of the 74 international
galleries, there is artist Ed Young’s mural “My Other Ride Is
Your Mom,” which alludes to bumper stickers on South African
government vehicles.
Page 14
Media
Basler Zeitung. BLOG DateJune 11, 2013
Title
Tanzende Flaschengeister an der VOLTA9 1/3
Author
Joel GernetPublished
Website
Tanzende Flaschengeister an der VOLTA9
Dancing genies in a bottle at VOLTA9
Seit heute Dienstag ist auch die Kunstmesse Volta 9 in der Dreispitzhalle für jedermann zugänglich. Bei einem
ersten Streifzug sind wir unter anderem tanzenden Flaschengeistern von Gabriel Barcia-Colombo (USA), einem
Hamsterrad für Menschen von Hartmut Stockter (D) und einer Hochhausstadt im Miniaturformat von Rik Smits
(NL) begegnet.
Since today, Tuesday, the VOLTA 9 fair in the Dreispitzhalle is also open to the public. On our first foray, we came
across dancing genies in a bottle by Gabriel Barcia-Colombo (USA), a human hamster wheel by Hartmut Stockert
(Germany), and a miniature high-rise city by Rik Smiths (Netherlands).
Die
tanzenden
Flaschengeister
«Animalia
Chordata» (2006/2013) des New Yorkers Gabriel
Barcia-Colombo werden von hinten mittels eines
Projektors in die Gefässe projiziert. Gesehen bei
der Muriel Guépin Gallery.
The dancing genies “Animalia Chordata” are
screened on the bottles via a projector. Seen at
Muriel Guépin Gallery (New York)
Senf? Nein, BrainDrain! Specta aus Kopenhagen
(DK) zeigt die Skulptur Brain Drain (2013) von
Andreas Schulenburg.
Mustard? No, Brain Drain! SPECTA from
Copenhagen (Denmark) shows the sculpture
“Brain Drain” (2013) by Andreas Schulenburg.
«Das gibt doch Löcher in die Wand», meint das
Töchterlein zur Installation «Crossfire» (2012) von
Sanell Aggenbach, ausgestellt bei Brundyn +
Gonsalves aus Kapstadt (SA).
“It makes holes in the wall,” a little daughter said
about Sanell Aggenbach’s installation “Crossfire,”
exhibited at Brundyn+Gonsalves from Cape Town
(South Africa).
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Das «Wiesenpfad Menschenrad» (2009) von Hartmut Stockter,
präsentiert bei der Larmgalleri aus Kopenhagen (DK).
The “Wiesenpfad Menschenrad” (2009) by Hartmut Stockert,
presented at LARMgalleri from Copenhagen (Denmark).
«Fuck The Poor» – auch provokante Installationen
gehören an der Volta 9 zum Ausstellungsprogramm.
Das geht wohl unter die Rubrik Gesellschaftskritik.
“Fuck the Poor” – provocative installations are
part of the exhibition program at VOLTA9. This
obviously refers to the category of social criticism.
Porzellan und Gummi: Die Skulptur «I don’t want
your freedom» von Nadine Wottke. Dahinter die
imaginäre Miniaturstadt «Capital 1» (2013) von
Rik Smits. Alle Häuser hat er eigenhändig aus
Styropor ausgeschnitten.
Porcelain and gum. The sculpture “I don’t want
your freedom” by Nadine Wottke, with the
imaginary miniature city “Capital 1” (2013) by Rik
Smits. All houses are styrofoam cut-outs.
Wieder dominiert Blau: Die Bilder von Ritums
Ivanivs der Gallery Bastejs aus der lettischen
Hauptstadt Riga.
Blue dominates again: paintings by Ritums Ivanivs
at Gallery Bastejs from the Latvian capital Riga.
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Basserboxen: Die mit Wasser gefühlten «Volume»Lautsprecher von Serge Baghdassarians und
Boris Baltschun weisen je nach Vibration ein
aussergewähnliches Muster auf ihrer flüssigen Membran
auf.
Boom boxes: the water-filled “Volume” speakers by
Serge Baghdassarians and Boris Baltschun, in which
vibrations draw extraordinarily variable patterns on the
liquid membranes.
Städtchen im Häuser-Boot: Dieses Werk von BoChristian Larsson steht bei der Christian Larsen Gallery
aus Stockholm.
Little city in a houseboat: sculpture by Bo-Christian
Larsson is exhibited at Christian Larsen Gallery from
Stockholm (Sweden).
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DISPATCHES Basel 2013 – Zavier Ellis reports from Basel
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DISPATCHES PART 1 Volta Basel 2013
POWER OF PAPER
Paper is on my mind, having scheduled a big three weeks
for our most recent gallery signing Eric Manigaud. As I write,
VOLTA9 at Basel is moving into gear with its Guest of Honour
opening, and we have two major works on show, one already
sold to a billionaire collector from the US. Next week Eric stars
in Saatchi’s exhibition Paper, and then we launch his first one
person in London at the gallery. So, although I was asked to
have a think about painting versus photography, my recalcitrant
little brain is thinking more about painting versus drawing. Or
photography versus drawing. Or perhaps just drawing.
There are several standout presentations of work on paper at Volta. And interestingly three of those are with my
British compatriots. Manchester based project space The International 3 are showing Rachel Goodyear, whose
bestial drawings that operate somewhere between the perverse and the carnivalesque, have now evolved into
video animation. Newcastle’s Vanehas presented, as I have come to expect from them, a delicate and precise two
person featuring Michael Mulvihill and Stephen Palmer. Mulvihill’s tiny drawings of war scenes and war mongers
sit very well with Palmer’s trompe l’oeil re-renderings of newspaper articles and obituaries. David Risley completes
the trio with Robert McNally’s drawings that are a contemporary brand of old masterly surrealism. David’s putting
him in all the right places and he’s already becoming a sought after artist.
Away from my nationalistic bias are Franz Burkhardt at Sebastian Brandl, Cologne and Rik Smits at Ron Mandos,
Amsterdam. Burkhardt, using pencil, collage, Indian ink and print techniques in various combinations, presents
a collection of randomly framed pieces that vary in subject matter from everyday objects to hardcore porn. It is
with the latter when he is at his most seductive, but the variety works well to create a sense of the nostalgic and
archival. Smits, on the other hand, is a draughtsman who works up to 240 x 350cm with Monument Rock Island.
His drawings of fictional architecture recall Paul Noble, but Smits displays more variety and stronger technique.
And so this makes Saatchi’s next show Paper, opening next week back in London, all the more prescient,
and helps to affirm that paper never went away and still retains its power. Perhaps though, it is undergoing a
reappraisal. Historically being a preparatory medium, work on paper still has a sense of immediacy but can now
simultaneously be a finished work. And as all of the artists above show, paper has kept up with technological
advances from mass production to photography to the architectural to video, and responded to them in order to
combine the traditional and the modern. And as such, should it not be valued higher monetarily? A painting of
equal size will nearly always be worth more despite the amount of time and labour involved. A move towards a
higher recognition of the intrinsic value of a work on paper should in turn result in a higher recognition in the price.
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SPARKS VIDEO ACTION
You know you’re at an international art fair when you see people
in some art fair city that you only ever see in, well, some art fair
city. Like a travelling circus, the art world moves on from New
York to Basel to London to Miami etc. like an eternally recurring
ouroboros caravan. And what does this mean? This means Volta
is doing its job by attracting the best of the art world. Michael &
Susan Hort, Jean Pigozzi, Steve Shane and Ole Faarup have all
been by the booth and the initial reports of sales at the fair have
been good. I’m pleased to hear that one of my first day spots,
Myeongbeom Kim, has sold two sculptures with one priced
over $30,000. These are really alluring sculptures that combine
craftsmanship and taxidermy in natural materials to create visual
poetry.
And the Brits are also in town. Gallerists Joe la Placa (OK not
Brit but adopted), Oliver Sears, Ian Rosenfeld & Charlie Phillips;
critic Paul Carey-Kent; Art Review’s Patrick Kelly; and insurance
broker Louise Hallett have helped me keep my small piece of
green and pleasant land green and pleasant.
But what’s going on with the art? Today I’m thinking more about sculptureas there are some very intriguing and
original sculptors included in the show. Every time I pass by Galerie Martin Kudlek of Cologne I get caught out by
Sofie Muller’s life-size schoolboy sculpture ‘Brandt’. Standing dejectedly, or despairingly, with his head against the
wall, face in turned, young Brandt has left a smear of paint against the wall where he has dragged himself along
it. Made of bronze and burnt wood and realistically painted, the sculpture represents chastisement, isolation &
solemnity.
Satoru Tamura, at Tezukayama Gallery, Osaka, harnesses the scientific to make constructions that look, feel and
sound like the experiments of an eccentric physicist. There is an element of play, but they are also threatening as,
for example, a pendulum swings, touching a live plate at its nadir which sparks into life with each pass.
Gabriel Barcia-Colmbo at Muriel Guepin Gallery, New York, embraces technology to make clever projections onto
glass objects. They refer to the idea of imprinting and personal digital archiving for future generations.‘Double Yolk
I’, a small video screen imbedded in a handmade acorn shaped ceramic, is the pick of the work. Recalling Bill
Viola, the miniature screen displays two lovers who appear to cajole then caress then reject each other in a cycle
of intimacy, attraction and aggression.
But if I was going to take a sculpture home it would be the afore mentioned Myeongbeom Kim at Gallery Skape,
Seoul. Taxidermy is not unusual these days but there is simplicity and expert craftsmanship in Kim’s work that
makes it pure, meditative and beautiful.
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The Players: Collector Steve Shane
Zavier Ellis: Steve, you are known globally for being a voracious
collector. When, how and why did you first get into collecting?
Steve Shane: It all started in high school in a Detroit, Michigan suburb.
I was introduced to art history by my Humanities teacher. Nancy is still
my friend after all these years. She first taught me all about Surrealism
and Salvador Dali. I was hooked immediately. Then, I studied art history
at the University of Michigan. My favourite class. I don’t like the term
art collector. I consider myself to be an art historian and an art lover. I
also consider myself to be a curator, because I curate my collection.
When I went to New York City at the age of 19 to see the art I studied
in person, I found myself going to the book shops of the museums
and buying reproduction posters and post cards of the art work that
engaged me. Before long, all the walls of my college apartments were
covered with these art posters and post cards. I had the urge to be
surrounded by art and to live with the art. I do the same thing today
with original works of it. I hang the collection salon style. I am addicted
to art. Having a ball in Basel. It’s my 23rd Art Basel. 23 years in a row!!!
Some collectors have a very tight remit for subjects, styles or periods in work that they are looking for and
some are completely open. It seems to me you are open but what is it about a work or an artist that makes
you acquire?
I try not to buy any more art, but I am completely addicted. I can smell sincerity in an artist. The work has to
move me and I need to relate to it. No one advises me. I buy with my heart and eyes. I do not buy with my ears.
Several themes have popped up subconsciously: Art about art, sense of humour, seduction meets repulsion,
dysfunctional family, painting without paint, photography of invention, the element of the fake, bad girl, bad boy,
and more.
You make a lot of effort to travel to see art and enjoy building relationships with art world people. What is your
view of ‘the circuit’ for better and for worse?
I love “the circuit.” I find great enjoyment in running into fellow art lovers and talking about art and the art world.
I really enjoy meeting artists who I admire. I especially like speaking to art history professors. I enjoy asking them
what was their doctoral thesis. Usually leads to interesting conversations. My social life is dominated by art fairs,
gallery tours, studio visits and museum visits. The circuit is much larger than it used to be and I think a lot of people
are in the art world who don’t know that much about art history. Many people lack an art history foundation, which
I think is important.
You’re here at Basel doing the rounds with a packed itinerary. Which fairs stand out for you? Which galleries?
And which artists?
I had a very wonderful experience at Liste Fair this year going to the IBID gallery booth. The owner, Magnus
Edensvard, explained the work of the Greek artist, Rallou Panagiotou, in a fascinating way.
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This artist is a new discovery for me. The more Magnus spoke of the work in such a passionate way, the more it
moved me. The work is very esoteric, which I like. It is also political and about materials as metaphors. The story
does enhance the work.
Last year, the same thing happened to me, hearing Moritz Willborn and Iris Kadel of Kadel Willburn Gallery, speak
of the work of Helen Feifel. Helen buys ceramic works and destroys them and makes new work out of the broken
pieces. Very “bad girl”!
I like when the work becomes even more engaging, the more the dealer explains it to me. This happened at
Volta fair with the artist Hartmut Stockter at Larm Gallery of Copenhagen. Stockter’s work is about nature, the
lack of it, and one’s longing for nature in a very humorous way. Lars Rahbek of Larm Gallery explained the work
so eloquently. These are the types of conversations I like. I often spend 30 minutes at one booth. Same thing
happened at Charlie Smith’s booth at Volta Fair when you explained the work of Tom Butler to me. Butler alters
old calling cards in a surrealistic manner.
I spent a lot of time at Art Unlimited. I enjoyed reading the text that was available for each work. I was especially
moved by what Rob Pruitt wrote about his work. His installation was composed of a huge number of colourful
abstract paintings, and each one has a face painted on it. Here is an excerpt of what Pruitt wrote, which caused
me to shed a few tears:
“When I was a kid, my father, a really loving man and a great father, tried to get me to play sports with him in the
backyard. And I did that, but it wasn’t really what I wanted to do. What I really wanted was to be taken to the art
museums. My father, having no idea what art even was, would take me to the museums at the very early age of
eight or nine. I would stand in front of Rothko paintings and just be over the moon about them. He would make
jokes like: ‘Wouldn’t this be a little better if the artist had drawn a face over it?’ Then he would gesture with his
hands, with an invisible Magic Marker: two eyes and mouth. I guess all these years later I still associate that with
love and attention.”
This text brought tears to my eyes. Later I went to the director of Gavin Brown Gallery (Pruitt’s dealer) and asked if
Pruitt’s father was alive. He is not. A shame his dad couldn’t see his son’s work at Art Basel. What a tribute to his
daddy. This was my most moving experience in Basel this year.
And finally, as an experienced collector what advice would you have for young / emerging collectors? And on
the other side, what advice would you have for gallerists in the way that they interact with collectors.
I like the art dealers who tell me about the artist and what their work is about. I DO NOT want to know: what
awards the artist won, what museum shows are coming up, who is buying the work, nor what article is going to
be written. I find this kind of banter very annoying and sad.
My advice to young/emerging collectors is to wear comfortable shoes, and go to lots of art museums and lectures.
Buy only what you like. Make your own decisions. Keep an open mind.
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The Players: Artistic Director & co-founder of VOLTA art fair,
Amanda Coulson
Zavier Ellis: Amanda, as co-founder and Artistic Director of
VOLTA you are truly committed to the cause and understand
the project from the inside out. How did the show come
about and what was your original vision?
Amanda Coulson: The show came about when Friedrich
Loock, Kavi Gupta and my then partner, now husband, Uli
Voges, were sitting at Art Cologne back in 2004 and talking
about Basel. Uli was pretty-much born in a three-piece suit and
sharp, lace-up leather shoes; as a young gallery, he was invited
to Liste but always felt it was not his crowd… he was never the
Puma-wearing, funky hipster guy… and aside from that he is a
severe claustrophobe! As much as I love Liste and really admire
what they achieved, their location is indeed quite a challenge.
There is some work that just looks displaced there, and I really
always feel so sorry for the galleries who are given a corridor
as their booth (with even a light switch or a fire extinguisher in
the middle of their wall). For me, as an art critic at the time, I
was less interested in going to the big fairs where there were
few discoveries to make and wanted a place with the same
production value as the main fair but for the galleries who were
still on the upward trajectory.
Another really important factor for us were the artists: several of the founder (and other) galleries had represented
artists early on in their careers and then, as happens quite naturally, they got picked up by bigger galleries, already
at the main fair, who would then show the artists on that platform, while the original “mother” gallery was still
considered too young for the main fair but then not young or hip enough for Liste. And also at that time -- at 38/39
years old -- I was getting touchy about this “young” art thing, and “young” galleries, artists under forty… huh?
So, being over 40 meant not being able to come up with a fresh idea or have any talent? There were no artists
over 40 who were “emerging”? Youth is not a talent and as far as dealers go, being open for only 3 years is not a
particularly noteworthy achievement, so we felt there was room for another alternative fair with a selection criteria
other than age. The vision also had to do with the booths themselves. I am still to this day surprised at how some
approach this – whether at a small satellite or at the main fair – as an opportunity to slap up 5-8 artists, who do
not relate one to the other at all, and just sell. I never really understood that. I always told the galleries that a fair
was the opportunity to show a public what they did in their gallery and no dealer just puts up 10 unrelated works
without a theme or a concept. So we always asked galleries to “curate” their booths with a little more consideration
than just the market. This wasn’t always easy and we had a lot of arguments … but it worked.
So the global concept was to create a place for good, serious galleries – young OR “old” – with a strong history
of supporting emerging art – young OR “old” – who were somehow overlooked, and to make a fair where the art
was put into a context, even if tenuously (because you are still in a fair after all…), at least within the three walls
of the booth.
To all of our complete surprise, because we simply thought of it as an experimental project, we really hit a nerve
and it was an explosion from the get-go. This fact that we had discovered a niche was confirmed by
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Art Basel then coming up with their Premiere section a year later in 2006, which assumed several of our original
exhibitors; Armory has followed with their Solo and Focus sections; then Liste changed their age requirement and
came up with their “graduates” section… the market confirmed there was a missing piece, so we were satisfied
by that.
VOLTA Basel is now in its 9th year. How has the show evolved throughout this period?
Well, first of all its evolved in terms of our own increasing expertise; we were always concerned with production
value and made sure there was almost museum-quality lighting and walls, clear maps and legible signage, but
to be honest in the beginning we were just a group of friends with a bunch of interns, who thought it would be
a fun thing to put up a show. We were all quite naive and it was very do-it-yourself, up ladders and hammering
in signage, and the exhibitors were schlepping their own crates and screwing together our IKEA furniture for
us (which we then rented back to them!)… we have a lot of extremely funny stories from the early years, which
actually we’re going to collect and publish on our tenth anniversary next year. We’ve tried to maintain this sort of
familial and close relationship and make an effort to go speak to every exhibitor every day to listen to them; we
always do an annual debrief and then write to all of our exhibitors asking for them to give us constructive feedback,
so we can continue to evolve and improve.
Obviously it’s also evolved in terms of size, though we are always trying to keep the numbers down as much as
we can, as we always wanted it to be an easy, even pleasant visiting experience, not up and down stairs and into
crowded, badly-lit basements, elbowing people in tight corridors to be able to see anything. However, to go from
the initial 23 galleries to 75 - 85, which is about our usual limit, we had to rethink the curatorial aspect. With VOLTA
NY – which is all solo shows and done very intentionally because of all that’s going on in NY the same week – we
saw how well-received that was and so we re-thought Basel and now, even here, we strongly advise galleries to
limit their presentation to dialogues between two artists or perhaps 3-man shows.
Some galleries do rotating solo shows all week or re-hang every two days to keep tight presentations but still be
able to represent their full stable. The idea behind VOLTA is legibility, ease of visibility, and most of all discovery.
Lots of people tell me they come allotting themselves one, maybe two hours, to visit and end up staying for several
hours. Collectors often return two days in a row, that’s because with fewer artists they actually spend more time
in the booths, really getting to know them, and because it’s simply a really pleasant environment to be in, not
overwhelming and visually exhausting.
One revelation for me and a major evolution was the catalogue. I always find show catalogues to be very expensive
(and heavy) phone books and who uses a phone book anymore? The 4-colour, bound catalogues require a very
long lead time in terms of production, so often the photo in the catalogue is not even an image of work that is in
the booth, which I never found very helpful, and there is a tendency for only one image and no text, just a list of
artist names. For the gallery and artists it did nothing, so we literally broke apart and re-created it to make a tool
that was useful for both visitor and gallery. With black-and-white offset printing, turnaround is short, so all images
(we allow up to 5) are in the booth; there is room for a critical text, so it’s much more informative. The visitor can
then collect pages and make a bespoke catalogue that represents their own visit and serves as an aide memoire;
the dealer meanwhile is given 1,000 brochures on his represented artists rather than a single paperback catalogue
that sits on the desk.
VOLTA New York was your idea. What was the motivation behind establishing VOLTA in New York and how
did you seek to create its identity in relation to VOLTA Basel and to other New York fairs?
Well, to be honest, it wasn’t my idea! We had thought about taking VOLTA to a second city but had not really
settled on a location – except being agreed it would NOT be Miami.
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Then, in 2008, we were purchased by MMPI, the others founders then focusing again more on their respective
galleries, and I was retained as Executive Director to oversee VOLTA’s growth. MMPI really wanted us to open
elsewhere: first Chicago, which we entirely rejected, and then NY. I was reluctant, at first, because of the fair scene
there, which was already quite developed – The Armory Show, Pulse, Scope, plus a whole slew of other fairs – and
it didn’t interest me to go in and be the sixth or seventh fair in New York. We felt that in Basel we had really brought
something additional to the city, the three fairs functioned well together – clearly different but complementary –
and that we filled a gap.
We always said the same criteria should apply to another VOLTA, in that we should bring something to the table,
add something meaningful to the conversation and not just catch some kind of overflow. At that time, in 20072008, The Armory Show was only for contemporary galleries and living artists but there was no “young section.”
The few emerging galleries that were added were few and far between and mixed into the main fair so I thought
perhaps, since we were now partner fairs (The Armory had also been purchased by MMPI), we could function
as an extension of their fair and provide the emerging section. Due to the other fairs already active in the city, the
sheer amount of artwork on view was already enormous and I was thinking of a way to strip down even further, to
keep the viewer engaged, to give them a place of respite, even. As you noted, it was also important to differentiate
from our own Basel brand because to produce two completely similar fairs, with the same concept, with the
same gallery list, is also not interesting. We were also responding to the nature of the city: Basel has always been
about the market; New York, on the other hand, has a critical mass of curators, writers, many other art world
professionals outside of collectors, who mightn’t have the budget to travel... So, that’s how the idea for an entirely
solo fair came up, to make it like studio visits – it really set us apart from the other satellites, connected us in a
more meaningful way to our “sister fair” and, again, it proved to be more of a success than we had anticipated,
consolidating us right away as “the second fair” during Armory Arts Week.
As well as running two art fairs you have also been an art critic, a curator, are now a museum director and
have extensive prior experience working in galleries in New York, Paris and London. Many don’t realise that art
world people often wear several ‘hats’. Some see it is an advantage whereas others struggle to understand.
What is your perspective and how do your activities feed into each other (or not)?
Yes, a lot of hats indeed! Let’s be honest, part of it is economic. Nobody likes to talk about money in our business
and while, yes, we all get into it for passion, there are still very real basic needs… like eating! There are not that
many who can really support themselves entirely on a critic’s salary and it’s necessary to do some consulting
or curating, or to juggle some other projects that can simply help get the kids through school. Uli and I were
extremely lucky that MMPI came along shortly after our second daughter was born (we actually found out we
were expecting her on the first day of the first VOLTA…) because a regular, reliable salary in this business is not
so easy to come by.
There were some that said it was a “conflict of interest” to be an art critic and an art fair director simultaneously. All
I can say to that is a naughty word that my kids would tell me off for using! I mean, seriously, letting galleries select
who their competition would be? That is also pretty laughable if you think about it. Does Porsche get to decide
if Skoda can do the car show (or be in the booth next to them)? No, absolutely not, yet we accept it as entirely
normal that certain dealers can have absolute control over who their neighbours will be. How is an art critic in a
worse position to make this selection than a fellow dealer?
Precisely because of the way the art world is there are loads and loads of potential conflicts: curators dating
artists, artists curating shows, museum directors married to dealers, critics with artists… these all exist and they
are all tricky to navigate but we have to trust in the personal moral compasses of these individuals. My wonderful
colleague and co-Director of VOLTA NY, Christian Viveros-Fauné, was indeed let go from his critical post at the
Village Voice because some other journalist made a big fuss about it, saying how it was a conflict of interest,
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and that to me was just absurd. Christian is one of the most grounded, non-biased, clear-thinking, intelligent and
moral people I know, so to make this accusation, that he couldn’t keep his boundaries clear, was just laughable.
Not all Bankers are “banksters,” not all Lawyers are ambulance chasers… every industry has it’s shameful
participants but also every industry has those people who are very good at staying within the boundaries of what’s
acceptable. Of course I informed the magazines that I wrote for and clarified our borders. It wasn’t that hard: there
are plenty of artists and shows to review or write about who don’t do VOLTA and, quite honestly, I do feel that
VOLTA has always looked better than the average satellite fair because I came at it from a different standpoint
aside from “the market” or simply selling floor space. Having worked at galleries has given me the viewpoint of the
fair’s clientele and I have been told many times that I am a fair director who makes the gallery feel like the client,
that I am working for them as much as for the VIPs… because I look at everything from their point of view, every
extra charge, every decision that can ultimately affect their week, their sales, their contacts…
To have a critical, art historical background and look at galleries and artists from that viewpoint and consider how
to put them together is entirely different than being just a trade fair organiser; to be able to look at things from
different viewpoints – to literally be able to stand in someone else’s shoes because you have actually stood in them
already – I simply cannot see how that’s a bad thing.
Finally, for someone who is so consumed by the art world how do you escape from it when you have the
chance?
I hang out with my kids – though I’m afraid even they have been “tainted”!! But they have a fresh and very funny
way to look at things. The island we live on is pretty ramshackle and we were driving through, let’s say, one of the
less well-maintained parts of town and there was this old, rusty satellite – one of those really huge ones people had
in the ‘80s – and our youngest daughter Daisy, 6 at the time, asked, “Mummy, is that art?” I have to say I almost
drove off the road I was laughing so hard… she’s been around A LOT of fairs and Biennales so it kind of made a
comment on the work she’s been seeing recently.
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The Players: Associate Director of Timothy Taylor
Gallery, Laurence Tuhey
Zavier Ellis: Laurence, you are Associate Director
of the world renowned Timothy Taylor Gallery in
London. Can you tell me a bit about your history
and how you reached this point in your career?
Laurence Tuhey: I was very lucky to have my first
introduction to the art world some 25 years ago
working for Leslie Waddington and that really set the
standard for my career to date. To be exposed to
artists of the calibre of Picasso, Miro, Jasper Johns, Motherwell and many other museum quality artists was an
education that money can’t buy. At Waddington’s I met Tim Taylor and over the course of the last 20 years, apart
from a brief interlude, I have worked with Tim.
This week you are exhibiting at Art Basel. How have you found the first few days and how does the 2013
edition compare with previous years?
It has been a very successful Art Basel for the gallery and the feeling of quality at the fair certainly indicates that
most galleries will have had a good experience. We dedicated half our stand to Susan Hiller and her feature at Art
Unlimited has been a real pleasure to be involved with. Of course having a stunning new painting by Sean Scully
alongside Philip Guston will always set the tone for a successful fair. My expectation is for one of the best yet.
Your booth is one of the strongest at the fair. Two standout pieces are the Susan Hiller and Philip Guston. How
do you contextualise these pieces within the overall presentation?
We deliberately chose to present Guston in close proximity to other gallery artists who work within abstraction or
who have responded to his legacy. Susan’s part of the stand is really a chance to show the incredible range of her
work and some of the highlights of her wonderful career to date.
Your gallery roster features established contemporary artists like Richard Patterson, Fiona Rae and Sean
Scully as well as stellar 20th century names including Philip Guston, Antoni Tàpies and Andy Warhol. How do
you balance your programme between the two approaches?
Having a varied and exciting program is the lifeblood of the gallery. There are already a number of links between
some of the gallery artists, such as Antoni Tàpies and Jessica Jackson Hutchins, so it’s simply a question of
drawing attention to that and then achieving the right balance between presenting established names and
nurturing new talent.
And finally, with so many art fairs globally, how are they relevant? Is the template shifting? And where does
Basel figure in all of this for you?
Yes there are a number of fairs throughout the world with Art Basel acting as a hub for the best international
galleries. Art Fairs give clients the opportunity to see a greater scope of work in one location and an opportunity
to see works by artists they may not have considered previously. Art Basel is the premier fair and clients are able
to view the most prestigious works in one location.
Page 26
Media
telebasel DateJune 12, 2013
Title
Basel im Kunst-Fieber
Author
–Published
Daily Local Newscast
telebasel
To watch the entire video use this link:
http://www.telebasel.ch/de/tv-archiv/&id=366829531
starting at min 8:30
Page 27
Media
THE ART NEWSPAPERDateJune 12, 2013
Title
Power of one 1/2
Author
Anny ShawPublished
Website
Power of one
More galleries are bringing single-artist shows
to fairs, but is the risk paying off?
The number of galleries bringing solo shows to
Art Basel—and other art fairs—is on the rise. Of
the 304 dealers exhibiting here this year more
than 40 are presenting works by a single artist,
with 24 galleries taking part in the Statements
section, which is dedicated to solo projects by
young and emerging practitioners. This is up 41%
from a decade ago, when 17 galleries took part
in Statements. The Feature section, which was
introduced in 2010 to show “precise curatorial
projects”, also includes 24 galleries (the highest
number yet) —16 of which will present work by
a single artist. A further 79 solo projects are on
display in the largest Unlimited section to date.
While the younger galleries participating in Statements and Feature have brought the majority of solo booths to Art
Basel in recent years, last month Frieze New York saw single artist presentations from big-name galleries such as
Marian Goodman (2.0/B17 at Art Basel), which presented a performance by Tino Sehgal, and David Zwirner (2.0/
F5 at Art Basel), which brought photographs by Thomas Ruff. At Art Basel Hong Kong established galleries also
plumped for solo shows: Victoria Miro (2.1/N7 at Art Basel), together with the Tokyo gallery Ota Fine Arts, brought
works by Yayoi Kusama (the choice paid off; 40 works sold in total, for up to $2m each), while Galerie Gmurzynska
(2.0/D14 at Art Basel) exhibited paintings and sculptures by Fernando Botero.
Joost Bosland, a director at the South African gallery Stevenson, which at Art Basel is presenting drawings (priced
at around €2,000 each), a mural and performance piece by Kemang Wa Lehulere in the Statements section (1/S8),
as well as a large-scale sculpture by Meschac Gaba at Unlimited (1/U74), says single-artist booths can increase a
younger gallery’s chances of being accepted by the more competitive fairs such as Art Basel. Once inside, a solo
presentation can also help get you noticed by collectors. “They tend to stop people in their tracks,” Bosland says.
For the younger galleries, they are about long-term marketing. For example, they can be a good way to introduce
collectors to a young artist’s oeuvre; a few works hung together provide a sense of context. A solo project can also
advertise an extended exhibition outside of the fair, or the other artists in a gallery’s stable. At this year’s Frieze New
York Stevenson gallery sold paintings by Zander Blom (priced between $5,000 and $10,000 each) from its solo
booth, as well as a work by Nicholas Hlobo, whose solo project was a showstopper at the New York fair last year.
In the main Galleries section of Art Basel, only a handful of dealers are bringing solo presentations this year,
including Peter Blum Gallery (2.0/A2), showing work by Helmut Federle, whose retrospective at the Kunstmuseum
Luzern opens this autumn, Daniel Blau (2.0/B4), who is exhibiting previously unseen drawings by Warhol, and
Galerie Löhrl (2.0/B1), which is showing around 20 drawings and paintings by Terry Fox, priced between €5,000
and €35,000. Dietmar Löhrl has been bringing solo presentations to Art Basel for the past six years. With a small
booth—around 50 sq. m—Löhrl says his strategy is not commercially driven; he hopes instead a museum will buy
Fox’s works.
Marc Spiegler, the director of Art Basel, says that while solo shows are still rare in the Galleries section, “we are
seeing an increase in presentations that display one or two artists in more depth. A good example is Hauser &
Wirth’s [2.0/C10 at Art Basel] stand at Miami Beach last year, where they exhibited work
Page 28
Media
THE ART NEWSPAPERDateJune 12, 2013
Title
Power of one 2/2
Author
Anny ShawPublished
Website
by Roni Horn and Guillermo Kuitca. We also increasingly see booths that show multiple artists, but where the
focus of the stand really is on one artist.”
Beyond Basel
Solo booths and focused stands are on the rise at other fairs too. Katerina Gregos, the artistic director of Art
Brussels, encourages galleries to “consider their booths curatorially” and is expanding the solo show section
of the fair next year. Amanda Coulson, who co-founded VOLTA Basel in 2005, and in 2008 came up with the
solo show idea for VOLTA New York, says attitudes have changed in the past few years. “Before, galleries
felt they would have a better chance of appealing to curators with a broad portfolio. Solo booths have grown
in popularity because they offer some respite in this oversaturated climate.” VOLTA Basel now only takes
proposals for solo or two-person shows.
Stephanie Dieckvoss, the director of the London fair Art14, meanwhile, does not stipulate that galleries bring solo
booths, but encourages them if galleries propose them. “It can be a high-risk strategy, which is why I am cautious
about being prescriptive about it,” she says.
The challenge for galleries today, says Dina Ibrahim, the gallery manager at the Dubai gallery The Third Line,
which is exhibiting works by Laleh Khorramian in the Statements section (1/S6), is to present a “conceptually tight
booth”, while maintaining maximum commercial appeal. Art Basel, it seems, is still very much a marketplace. As
Julia Joern of David Zwirner (who despite having done solo shows at Frieze New York, the Armory Show, the Art
Dealers Association of America’s Art Show and Fiac has never done a solo booth at the Swiss fair) says: “Art Basel
is the one time of year when we show the best of our overall programme.”
Page 29
Media
Arterritory DateJune 13, 2013
Title
Blog From The Basel Art Week: Baltic Artists At VOLTA And Liste 1/3
Author
Kaisa KahuPublished
Website
Blog From The Basel Art Week: Baltic Artists At Volta And Liste
Oh, the sound of champagne bottles opening at Basel! This Swiss city of 172,000 inhabitants is currently full of
international art for this one intense week in summer that started with the opening of Volta art fair this Monday,
June 10.
Today is my 16th day in the heart of Europe after enjoying the opening of Venice Biennale, May 31, the action
in Basel followed, when this week satellite fairs (Volta, Liste, Scope and The Solo Project) of the major Art Basel
opened up with great intensity. The Swiss mountain air has filled with art consumption, sales and critiques, which
you can even hear in the artsy shuttle buses between the fairs. There is a constant exchange of business cards.
Plus attending the events are art and pop culture stars, like critic Matthew Collings and singer Kanye West, who
visited Art Basel party yesterday.
The behaviour and art fair patterns seem to overlap in all four fairs seen so far – gallerists doing their art-sales
talk, typing away on numerous iPads and Apple laptops (yesterday I noticed one Asus laptop too), sipping on
champagne or just looking tired (the jet-lag for US and Asian gallerists) by the end of the evening.
Despite the overwhelming visual info and noise, and perhaps more art than I would be able to consume in my Riga
in a year, it has been an invaluable experience to see the cutting-edge art fairs contrasting with Venice biennale,
playing around with and complementing each other. All of this still raises many questions about the essence of art
(Is social art really art? Where is the limit of science and art? Who is the trustworthy enough an authority to decide
this? How important exactly is a curator or a gallerist for the career of an artist? Will an artist fail in an art market
if standing alone and without any organisational/curatorial support by a gallery? Can it be true that allegedly
personal contacts and relations matter more than strong concepts?), but instead of seeking immediate answers,
I enjoy the vivid experience that Basel and Venice can give. So after all info has settled in, upon some meditation
on it, the answers or versions of answers will come, slowly.
Being an Estonian living in Riga, Latvia, I am proud and positively surprised that this year Latvia and Lithuania are
quite well represented in Basel, considering how small the art scene of these countries actually is. The Latvian
composer and sound artist Voldemars Johansons is participating at Liste with House of Electronic Arts Basel,
and the op-art painter Ritums Ivanovs is solo shown at Volta by Bastejs Gallery. The works of the Lithuanian artist
Zilvinas Kempinas are displayed by the Tinguely museum.
The minimalism on the Baltic Basel scene is continued by Voldemars Johansons at Liste Basel with his work
Emissions (Pierres) 2013, which has quite an unique source of origin, as it turned out in conversation with the artist
in the Liste cafe yesterday. Namely, Johansons was once swimming in a hot spring in a small town in Iceland.
When he dived under the water, he heard a rhythm that has now been exhibited via his sound installation at Liste.
It turned out the rhythm comes from the hot spring that heats up the swimming pool and the small emissions of
vapour that are produced, but you can only hear them when under the water so the artist recorded them. The
dense black material full of metal ore was chosen for display because of its ability to produce and emit sound.
The installation is modular and consists of black plates hanging on strings, producing a beautifully mysterious
clinking-cracking sound you could listen to for hours. When suggested, the artist agreed that the small gallery
space is not enough for His work to express itself in full, it would gain more power when exhibited in a bigger,
perhaps an industrial venue.
As Liste positions itself as a young art fair and Volta as a cutting edge art fair, the Tinguely, with its museum status,
stands apart from the fair scene happening in Basel right now, even though the Kempinas show is displayed as
an event parallel to Art Basel. The museum has given Kempinas freedom to realize his biggest solo exhibition so
far (on approximately 1500 square meters), so the Lithuanian artist now living in NY could play around with quite
simple means like videotapes and fans to produce an optically aesthetic atmosphere.
Page 30
Media
Title
Author
Kaisa KahuPublished
Website
Thirdly, Sotheby’s sold painter’s Ritums Ivanovs exhibits – his skull concept – at Volta, located at Dreispitzareal
industrial area. He has large scale incessantly obsessive blue paintings that have been skillfully mastered in his
self-invented linear technique, which in these fresh works is getting bit milder than his earlier purely op-linear mode.
Through flirting with death, the artist actually wishes to draw attention to life, and that it should be constantly
appreciated during our journey through it. He also skilfully directs our attention to how death – via a symbol, a
skull – is nowadays represented and played with in modern urban culture – skulls on t-shirts, high heels, tattoos,
and Vivienne Westwood rings, which in a way is an inevitable phenomenon and might (in older generation, as
observed) pose the question of “isn’t anything holy any more? (don’t play with death!)”.
Another strong piece at Volta’s web of sterile-white gallery booths, not far from the Ivanov’s exhibit, is an installation
by Nika Neelova at Jarmuchek+Partner gallery, Berlin. The black, matte, massive parquet wooden sculpture rises
from the concrete floor and touches the wooden ceiling of the exhibition hall, meanwhile twisting itself like an
irregular DNA-spiral. It reminds me of Latvian fashion designer Keta Gutmane’s parquet installation dress that
will be exhibited in the States this autumn at “A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion and Chess” next to
Hussein Chalayan, Henrik Vibskov and Maison Martin Margiela. As the artist puts it, the matte black sculptural
work at Volta is like a forgotten piece from a ruined past, whereas Gutmane’s piece stretches into the artefacts of
fashion and deals with the perception of space.
***
A walk and talk with Brian Fee, Volta’s press manager in Basel and New York, during which Brian kindly picks three
favourite pieces from Volta’s 81 galleries. A special coverage for Arterritory.com during Volta’s 2nd day.
Brian: “The thing I like about Volta is that the galleries like to show one or two artists, so you have this ability to get
a rain check of what an artist does. It’s almost like a studio visit, which I think is unusual for most art fairs.”
1. Tezukayama gallery from Osaka
I was pleased to meet Kazu [Tezukayama gallery
assistant director Kazuhide Miyashita] a few
months ago in New York, but his gallery is in
Osaka. The artist here is Tamura Satoru. I saw
a few of his pieces in New York. I see them as
emotive machines. They are not just cold objects,
they give back. The one with the needle keeps the
light bulb going because it is touching its surface
and the wheel moves around. That will affect the
light bulb.
Kazuhide Miyashita: The name is Point of Contact,
the point is just a phenomenon of lights going on
and off, very simple.
Brian Fee: I think it is really nice what he does – to take these industrial objects and make them into something
life-like or life-giving in a way.
It was nice to meet his gallery at Osaka. I try to go to Tokyo twice a year to follow the contemporary art scene,
but I had not been to Osaka for quite a while. It is nice that it worked out with Kazu and the gallery. This is the first
time she and the gallery are showing in Central-Western Europe, or at least for Switzerland this is the first time.
Page 31
Media
Title
Author
Kaisa KahuPublished
Website
2. Jarmuschek + Partner gallery, Berlin
The gallery is showing three artists. To me the way it has been presented forms a narrative flow – when I am
looking at it, I always work this out in my head. The large piece is by Nika Neelova. It is made out of wood. It was
technically a parquet floor that has now been uprooted and is floating. You can see it from different perspectives
– it’s black and it’s heavy. Some of her works would actually hang from the ceiling, but this one interacts with
the concrete floor, the wood against the concrete and the natural beams of Dreispitzhalle (Volta venue). She was
pleased with it. In a way you can consider this a site-specific piece for Volta. I also notice the light playing with it.
Then there is a set of new works by Carlina Linge. She is based in Leipzig. She is a German artist. I have seen her
work when Jarmuschek showed her in New York and I fell in love with it. It is a sinister dialogue, but it in any case
captivates you. Here you have these tense figures, which you want to make up stories about in your head. It was
not quite clear. Is it a couple, who had a fight?
The third artist is Patrick Cierpka, who lives in Berlin. The work gives a similar as if staring into the sun and
everything going a little blank. It is a little unclear from what vantage point we are looking at – these are more like
flowers (on the lower left), but then they resemble branches (the bottom and the top). It is not really clear, which
way should we be looking at it. It is like a plunge into brightness after the dark narrative of Carina’s work.
3. LARMgalleri, Denmark
It is actually my first time seeing Hartmut Stocker’s work. He is very interested in people, who live in urban
environment, and also nature. He is combining the two in an idealistic and subtly humorous way. I did not pick
up on this at first, but this is a massive wheel, like a hamster wheel for pets, but it’s human-size. Like when you
exercise at a gym. It can be boring as hell. But then you have this – you do your exercise on it, and you get this
idyllic scene. There is just one enormous drawing in it. When one of the galleries was telling me about this, I could
almost hear the nature. The piece – a violin with a roof on top – makes me think of the appreciation of birdcalls
– the birds, when they are singing, but not so much when they are walking around. You have to listen with the
stethoscope. You have to wait for one of them to land here to eat and then the sound is amplified through the
shape of the violin!
The last of Hartmut’s pieces is a nature backpack. I think that might actually be the title of the work [a metal
backpack with grass growing inside]. It has a mask that takes you to it, so you can walk around with it. Let‘s
say you are going to work, but at the same time you are inhaling nature – a field of flowers surrounds you and
everything around is energising. When in New York I sometimes do a day trip to Hudson Valley, to this really great
site for minimalist art. It is an hour and a half train ride outside the city, but when you get there you can feel the
warmth of the air and it smells cleaner. If you could encapsulate it in a container like that...
Page 32
Media
Tageswoche
DateJune 14, 2013
Title
Plakative Dezenz
Author
Karen GerigPublished
Website
Plakative Dezenz
Manchmal plakativ, manchmal kleinteilig, manchmal dezent, manchmal knallig. Die VOLTA9, erneut in der
Dreispitzhalle untergebracht, hält sich insgesamt doch sehr zurück. Was der Messe allerdings sehr gut tut.
So ein bisschen tut sich manch einer ja schwer, an einer Kunstmesse einen Galeriestand auch zu betreten – nicht
nur davor stehen zu bleiben und die Wände zu scannen. An der Volta könnte das heuer zu einem Problem werden.
Denn auf Distanz lassen sich recht viele der hier gezeigten Werke nicht betrachten.
Nicht alles ist so plakativ wie Ed Youngs Spruch «My Other Ride is Your Mom», der einen schon vor der Dreispitzhalle
empfängt – in grossen weissen Lettern auf roten Grund geschrieben. In der Halle drin doppelt der Künstler am
Stand der Smac Art Gallery nach: «Fuck the Poor» heisst es da. Hier will einer politisch unkorrekt sein, wir habens
verstanden.Und bleiben auf Abstand.
Ein paar Schritte weiter treten wir aber gerne näher. Am Stand von Charlie Smith London ziehen die Gemälde
von John Stark unsere Aufmerksamkeit auf sich. Sie sind nicht gross, und der Pinsel, mit dem sie gemalt wurden,
hatte wohl nicht mehr als ein paar Haare, so detailliert sind sie.
Stark ist nicht der einzige an dieser Messe, der dezente Arbeiten schafft. Überhaupt hält sich ein grosser Teil der
Messe in gedeckten Farben. Zeichnungen gibt es einige, auch viele kleinformatige Arbeiten und Fotografien. Das
tut ihr gut, der Messe, sie wirkt kuratiert. Und schafft so einen ausgleichenden Gegenpol zur bunt gemischten
Scope am anderen Ende der Stadt.
Page 33
Media
Tageswoche
DateJune 14, 2013
Title
Plakative Dezenz [Translation]
Author
Website
Striking decency
Sometimes bold, sometimes detailed, sometimes subtle, sometimes loud. VOLTA9, returning to the
Dreispitzhalle, contains itself to the benefit of the fair.
Some people might have trouble entering a gallery’s booth at an art fair – instead of only scanning the walls from
a distance. At VOLTA this might be a problem, since a lot of the exhibited artworks are difficult to consider from
at a distance.
Not all the works are as bold as Ed Young’s mural painting “My Other Ride is Your Mom,” which greets VOLTA’s
visitors in front of the Dreispitzhalle entrance. Inside the hall the artist mirrors this statement at SMAC Art Gallery
with “Fuck The Poor.” He is trying to be political incorrect, we understood, and kept our distance.
A few steps away, at CHARLIE SMITH london’s booth, we prefer to get a little closer. John Stark’s artworks
warrant attention: small-scale, very detailed paintings, executed with a brush as thin as hair.
Stark is not the only artist creating subtle works. Generally most of the fair keeps itself to muted colors: there are a
lot of drawings, even many small-scale works and photographs. It benefits the fair and it appears curated, creating
a balancing antithesis to the motley Scope fair across town.
Page 34
Media
Tageswoche
DateJune 15, 2013
Title
Ungeführte Ideen
Author
Website
Ungeführte Ideen
Ein Wohnwagen, eine Sex-Verrichtungsbox, ein Religions-Gewinnrad und ein Kopfhörer-Mann: Der Stand
von «Unguided» mit Werken von Stoneman
Mitten in den Hallen der VOLTA, gegenüber des Messecafés, steht ein Wohnwagen voller Kunst. Auf den Boden
davor projeziert steht geschrieben: Unguided. «Unguided» nennt sich das Projekt, das sich Michael Schär, Christian
Baechler, Stephan Knepper und Fabio Bongulielmi ausgedacht haben. Der Wohnwagen sei ihr «Flagship», sagt
Schär. Ein Schiff auf Rädern quasi, das dementsprechend seinen Standort wechseln kann und somit Kunst zu
den Leuten bringen.
Den ersten Stop macht der Kunstwohnwagen also hier. Und bringt die Werke von Stoneman a.k.a. Christoph
Steinemann unter die Kunstmesseleute. Der Wohnwagen allerdings rückt dabei fast etwas in den Hintergrund:
Am auffälligsten ist wohl das Glücksrad davor, an dem man eine Religion gewinnen kann. Und auch die SexVerrichtungsbox in Form eines Parkomaten lenkt ab.
Aufmerksamkeit aber erregt Unguided mit dem ersten Auftritt. Das in Zürich basierte Non-Profit-Projekt soll so
funktionieren, dass der Wohnwagen jeweils einem jungen aufstrebenden Kunstschaffenden als Plattform zur
Verfügung gestellt wird. «Was der oder die daraus machen, ist ihnen überlassen», erklärt Michi Schär. «Die Idee
hinter Unguided ist, dass jeder sein eigener Meister ist.» Und so heisst es denn auch in den Unguided-Guidelines:
«Die künstlerische Freiheit ist zu 100 Prozent unter der Kontrolle der Kreativen.»
Unguided will aber auch Kunst und Design zusammenbringen. Einen ersten Eindruck solcher Kooperationen
vermitteln sie ebenfalls an der VOLTA, am Stand des Showrooms: Ein Streetart-Künstler hat ein extra designtes
Velo besprayt, und unterschiedliche Kunstschaffende haben die Sitzflächen von Stühlen des Möbeldesigners
Oliver Rudin gestaltet.
Page 35
Media
Tageswoche
DateJune 15, 2013
Title
Ungeführte Ideen [Translation]
Author
Website
Unguided Ideas
A trailer, a ‘sex box,’ a wheel of fortune to win a religion, and a headphone man: UNGUIDED’s booth with
works by Stoneman
In the middle of the halls at VOLTA, opposite the café, there is a trailer full of art. Projected on the floor in front it
says: UNGUIDED. UNGUIDED is the name of a project invented by Michael Schär, Christian Baechler, Stephan
Knepper and Fabio Bongulielmi. The trailer is their flagship, a ship on wheels brining art to the people.
VOLTA is the art trailer’s first stop, publicly unveiling the works by Stoneman (aka Christoph Steinemann) at the fair.
The trailer takes a backseat: the most conspicuous thing is the wheel of fortune to win a religion and also causing
quite a distraction is the Verrichtungsbox — ‘sex box’ — in the shape of a parking meter.
UNGUIDED is definitely attracting attention with this debut. The Zurich-based non-profit provides the trailer as
a platform for young emerging artists. “It’s up to them what they make of it,” says Schär. “Being his or her own
master is the idea behind UNGUIDED.” The UNGUIDED guidelines say: “Artistic freedom is controlled by the
creative at 100%”.
UNGUIDED also encourages the collaboration of art and design. At Showroom’s booth at VOLTA, they convey
the idea of this cooperation: a street art artist spray-painted a designed bike and various artists intervened on the
seats of stools designed by Oliver Rudin.
Page 36
Media
Neue Zürcher Zeitung DateJune 15, 2013
Title
Die VOLTA9 in Basel. Erwachsenes Profil
Author
dbsPublished
Daily
Die VOLTA9 in Basel: Erwachsenes Profil
Dass die meisten Galerien auf der Basler Satellitenmesse VOLTA ihre Stände mit zu vielen Werken und Künstlern
bestücken, stört Sammler offenbar nicht. Selbst die Prominenten unter ihnen wie Michael und Susan Hort aus
New York oder Rodica Seward vom Pariser Auktionshaus Tajan wissen aus dem quirligen Angebot interessante
Entdeckungen junger Talente herauszupicken. Sie nutzten dieses Jahr wie viele ihrer Kollegen die VOLTA-Preview
für ihre Streifzüge nach Entdeckungen, bevor sie an der Art Basel auf die Pirsch gingen. Die VOLTA hat sich im
Kielwasser der Art Basel wie ihre Basler Schwestern, die Liste oder die Scope, mit Erfolg als Plattform junger
Galerien etabliert und setzt ihren Erfolgskurs auch dieses Jahr zügig fort.
Jarmuschek + Partner (Berlin) offerieren zum Beispiel erfolgreich neue dekorative Bilder von Patrick Cierpka. Und
für 1500 bis 12 000 Dollar fanden die mit Pfeilen gespickten Landschaftsbilder von Mohau Modisakeng, welche die
gegenwärtige Diskussion um die Landverteilung in Südafrika symbolisieren, in der Kapstädter Galerie Brundyn +
Gonsalves diverse Käufer. Frosch & Portmann aus Brooklyn hatten keine Mühe, Gemälde von Künstlern aus ihrem
Galerieprogramm wie Eva Lake, Julia Kuhl und Hooper Turner mit unbekannten Schönheiten oder ikonischen
weiblichen Charakteren abzusetzen (1500 Dollar). Und Slag, ebenfalls aus Brooklyn, hat bereits während der
Vorbesichtigung zwei Bilder von Dumitru Gorzo und Naomi Safran-Hon für je 8000 Dollar verkauft.
Die Berliner Galerie Mario Mazzoli, ganz auf das Crossover von Kunst und Musik spezialisiert, zieht mit den ironischen,
mit Wasser gefüllten Lautsprechern und deren Geräuschen von Douglas Henderson viel Aufmerksamkeit auf sich.
15 000 Euro werden hier für die 5er-Edition verlangt. Und Hans Kotters bei Patrick Heide (London) präsentierte
«Lichtzeichnungen» waren einem Kunstliebhaber 28 000 Euro wert. – Mit ihrer 9. Ausgabe zeigt die VOLTA ein
erwachsenes Profil, aus dem Banales und Unernstes weitgehend verbannt wurden. (Bis 15. Juni)
VOLTA9 in Basel: Mature Profile
Collectors don’t seem to mind overhung booths at most of the galleries at Basel’s satellite fair VOLTA. Even the
prominent among them, such as Michael and Susan Hort from New York or Rodica Seward from the Parisian
auction house Tajan, know how to pick out interesting discoveries from the feisty offer of young talents. Together
with their associates, they take the VOLTA Preview as an opportunity for discoveries before they go deerstalking
at Art Basel. VOLTA, as well as its Basel sisters LISTE and Scope, has established itself successfully in the wake
of Art Basel as a platform for young galleries and continues its successful course this year at a fast pace.
Jarmuschek + Partner (Berlin) offers new decorative paintings by Patrick Cierpka. Sannell Aggenbach’s arrowstudded landscapes ($1,500 – 12,000) at gallery Brundyn + Gonsalves (Cape Town), symbolizing South Africa’s
current discussion about distribution of land, found various buyers. Frosch + Portmann (New York) had no
difficulties in selling paintings from artists as Eva Lake, Julia Kuhl and Hooper Turner, which portrayed anonymous
beauties or iconic female characters (about $1,500 each). And SLAG (Brooklyn) sold two works, one by Dumitru
Gorzo and the other by Naomi Safron-Hon (about $8,000 each) during the opening preview.
Berlin gallery Mario Mazzoli, who specializes in crossovers between art and sound, grabs attention with Douglas
Henderson’s water-filled speakers and their soundscapes ($15,000, in an edition of 5). And Hans Kotter’s “Light
Drawings” at Patrick Heide Contemporary (London) went for 28,000 Euros to an art lover. VOLTA’s ninth edition
shows a mature profile, with the overall banishment of banality or lack of seriousness.
Page 37
Media
artmagazine
DateJune 15, 2013
Title
Sintflut - Bilderflut
Author
Werner Rodlauer
Published
Daily
Sintflut - Bilderflut
Während der Rest Mitteleuropas sich gerade auf die Flut vorbereitete, stand der Rhein
in Basel zwar hoch, von aktueller Gefahr aber war nichts zu spüren, während die
Satellitenmessen der Art Basel ihre Previews abhielten.
Von Sintflut war aber dann doch die Rede auf der Scope, die nach dem mächtigen
Messestand von Mario Mauroner (Wien/Salzburg) gleich am Eingang des Zeltes am Ufer
des Rheins, einen veritablen Wasserfall an bunter, bisweilen greller Kunst im Angebot
hatte. Mauroner bot einen Querschnitt aus seinem jüngeren Programm mit Bertram
Hasenauer und Bernardi Roig, aber auch Herbert Brandl und Jan Fabre. Angenehm viel
Schwarz-Weiß bot Lukas Feichtner (Wien) mit Kohlezeichnungen von Petar Mirkovic,
Fotografie von Stephan Reusse und Christina Boula und Grafik von Anna-Maria Bogner.
Bei Wunderkammern (Rom) fiel die Installation aus doppelt gefakten Prada- Vouitton- und
sonstigen Taschen diverser Luxuslabels auf. Alexander H. Auriema hatte die Taschen von
illegalen Einwanderern in Rom aus einfachsten Materialien nachschneidern lassen und sie
dann auch selbst als Straßenverkäufer angeboten – im Kunstmarkt hat er damit allerdings
mehr Erfolg als bei den Schnäppchenjägerinnen.
Ziemlich gelb kommen die „Puppies“ von Shinji Murakami bei Tinka Art (New York) daher,
kleine Hündchen in Computerspiel-Rasteroptik, die man dank der montierten Rollen
auch gleich an der Leine ausführen kann. Im Computer live gerendert wird dagegen
die Installation „Genealogy“ von François Zajéga bei Der Galerie Charlot (Paris). Ein
Algorithmus lässt dabei drei Gruppen fiktiver Zivilisationen sich entwickeln, „Kinder“
zeugen, sich austauschen, verbinden und wieder trennen. Trennen sollte sich aber auch
die Scope selbst, und zwar von einigen ihrer TeilnehmerInnen. Nach 80 Galerien im Jahr
2012 hatte man dieses Jahr 93 Galerien zugelassen – auf jeden Fall zu viele, um mit der
Konkurrenz der anderen Messen mithalten zu können.
Ganz so „cutting edge“ wie sie sich gibt, ist auch die VOLTA mit der 9. Ausgabe
in diesem Jahr nicht. Zwar verströmt die Dreispitzhalle etwas Berliner Galerien-LoftFlair und die militärisch anmutenden Erkennungsmarken, die an die Galerien als
Eintrittsberechtigung ausgegeben wurden, sollten wohl den großen Kampf um die
Kunst herausfordern, der Besuchersturm wollte sich aber nicht so recht einstellen.
Dabei ist die Galerienliste recht ansehnlich, aber auch schon ziemlich etabliert,
wie Ernst Hilger, der mit seiner HILGERBrotkunsthalle u.a. Asgar/Gabriel und Leila
Pazooki präsentierte. ADN aus Barcelona hatte ein Set von Adrian Melis’ „The Value
of Absence“ mit, das bis Ende Mai schon in seiner großen Einzelausstellung in der
Kunsthalle Basel zu sehen war. Sebastian Brandl aus Köln widmete seinen Stand
je zur Hälfte Franz Burkhardt (geb. 1966) und Gerhard Rühm (geb. 1930) zwei sehr
unterschiedliche Generationen, die aber eine stimmige Installation abgaben. Klein
zwar der Messestand von Balzer Art Projects (Basel), aber die architektonischen
Modelle des Cragg-Schülers Nicolas Kerksieck konnten durchaus überzeugen. Etwas
klösterliches haftet der Zeichnung von Jonathan Callahan bei der Galerie Martin
Kudlek an. Die an einen breiten Pinselstrich erinnernde Struktur, ist die vom Künstler
in Bleistift eng auf das Papier gebrachte Abschrift der Genesis 1. 1997 vom Künstler
Tadej Pogačar gegründet, ist die P74 Gallery aus Ljubljana zwar auch nicht mehr die
jüngste, aber immer gut für Arbeiten, die etwas abseits des Mainstream angesiedelt
sind, so z.B. die kleinen, reduzierten Bilder von Mateja Rojc aus dem Künstlerkollektiv
SBD (Small but dangers). [...]
Page 38
Media
artmagazine
DateJune 15, 2013
Title
Sintflut - Bilderflut [Translation]
Author
Werner Rodlauer
Published
Daily
The Flood – The Flood of Images
While the rest of Europe was preparing for the flood, while the water level of the Rhine in
Basel was high, there was no sense of danger in the air during the previews of Art Basel’s
satellite fairs.
[…]
VOLTA wasn’t quite as “cutting edge” this year in its ninth edition as it aims to be. While
indeed the Dreispitzhalle emits some Berlin gallery-loft flair and the military-style dog tags,
used as exhibitor passes, probably suggest the struggle for art, still the stream of visitors
didn’t quite hit the mark.
The list of exhibiting galleries, however, is quite considerable and established, like Ernst
Hilger presenting Asgar/Gabriel and Leila Pazooki at HILGERBrotkunsthalle. ADN from
Barcelona exhibited the series “The Value of Absence,” by Adrian Melis, who also had a
solo show at the Kunsthalle Basel at the end of May. Sebastian Brandl (Cologne) dedicates
half of his booth to artist Franz Burkhardt (born 1966) and half to Gerhard Rühm (born
1930), in a consistent installation presenting two different generations. Although shown in
a small booth by balzerARTprojects (Basel), the architectural models by Nicolas Kerksieck,
a student of Tony Cragg, were convincing. There is something monastic about Jonathan
Callahan’s drawings at Galerie Martin Kudlek: what appears as a large brushstroke across
the paper is actually a copy of Genesis I, written out by the artist in pencil, the small
letters creating the structure. Founded in 1997 by artist Tadej Pogačar, Gallery P74 from
Ljubljana is no longer one of the youngest galleries but always shows good work that
is not in the mainstream, such as the small, minimalist images by Mateja Rojc from the
artistic duo SBD (Small but dangers).
Page 39
Media
Basler Zeitung
DateJune 15, 2013
Title
Schwarz ist Trumpf – Die VOLTA-Messe setzt auf dezente Kunstwerke
Author
Graziella KuhnPublished
Daily
Page 40
Media
Basler Zeitung
DateJune 15, 2013
Title
Schwarz ist Trumpf – Die VOLTA-Messe setzt auf dezente Kunstwerke [Translation]
Author
Graziella KuhnPublished
Daily
Black is trump
VOLTA focuses on subtle works of art
Whoever is committed to the perennial color black should absolutely stop by the VOLTA art fair. The organizers
of the fair truly staged an ode to the absence of color. It’s a victory not only in terms of color, but also in terms
of genre: painting dominates all media with installations and sculptures are outnumbered. New trends like digital
design or projected computer-generated installations are rare or unrepresented. But classical painting is executed
with maximal precision, like Jan Mikulka’s “Portrait of Mr. Hackel.” The fine brushstrokes create a strong power of
illusion, making it difficult to distinguish whether its painting or photography.
Collage is ever-present as well, including Gerhard Rühm as an interesting representative. In his series, “Musical
Moods,” Rühm assembles the front page of music books from the Art Nouveau era with musical scores, creating
an art form bordering between the musical and the visual. Produced especially for VOLTA, Rik Smith’s “Capital 1”
is attention-grabbing. The large white sculpture, 225 x 366 cm., made of wood, polystyrene and cardboard is an
architectural marvel; an idealized futuristic city teeming with skyscrapers and monumental buildings next to arcane
buildings such as religious temples, monoliths, and idols.
Parody as Art
Alongside all these subtle works, a few conspicuous ones stand out. Debra Hampton astonishes with her
contemporary Amazons and their richness of detail and color. These are collages made of thousands of
advertisement cuttings from women’s magazines, glued onto paper and embellished with ink. These cyborg
warriors—composed of luxury and beauty products, mechanical parts, and coveted weapon—signify a new era
and image of women. Slightly ironic artwork by Ultra Violet adorns the booth of Gallery Dillon, from New York. The
78-year-old French artist recreates baroque frames made out of and encasing a mirror with the reflective title “Self
Portrait” in the middle. She is alluding to themes of consumption, narcissism, and the mirrored image as reality. If
the mirror could speak it might philosophize: “You’re real – you’re not real – enjoy your illusion.”
Overall the show, featuring 74 exhibiting galleries from all over the world, is captivating for its simple elegance. The
booths are carefully staged, clearly structured and invite you to linger. The exhibited works are also qualitatively
convincing. These factors and the muted colors give the VOLTA a serious undertone.
Page 41
Media
Tageswoche
DateJune 16, 2013
Title
Freude herrscht!?
Author
Website
Freude herrscht!?
Die Art Basel, die Liste und die VOLTA ziehen positive Bilanzen
70’000 Besucher zählte die Art Basel, 13’000 die Liste, die VOLTA veröffentlichte am Sonntag keine Zahlen.
Alle drei Messen jedoch freuen sich über einen erfolgreichen Abschluss.
Die Galeristen der VOLTA wurden zwar nicht von Käufern und Besuchern überschwemmt, konnten aber
trotzdem sehr gute Verkäufe erzielen. Und auch die Liste spricht von «imposantem Publikum und starken
Verkaufszahlen». Bei der Art freute man sich laut Pressemitteilung nicht nur über die zahlreich angereisten
Sammler und das Fachpublikum, sondern vor allem auch über berühmte Künstler und Künstlerinnen von Roni
Horn bis Sean Scully, die der Messe einen Besuch abstatteten.
Hochkarätige Kunst
Natürlich aber ging es vor allem um Verkäufe, und diese liefen offenbar fabelhaft – vor allem schon an den beiden
Previewtagen, wie bereits am Donnerstag zu vernehmen war. Verwunderlich ist das nicht, denn die Kunst, welche
an der Art zu finden war, war ein weiteres Mal unbestreitbar hochkarätig. Wenn man auch die Zwischentöne
vermissen konnte, jene kleinen Auffälligkeiten, die vielleicht nicht unbedingt als erstes einen Käufer finden würden,
aber dafür in Erinnerung bleiben.
Nein, schwere Kost war wenig zu finden. Die Galerien brachten auch in diesem obersten Segment mit, was sich
sicherlich gut verkaufen liess. Und die Rechnung ist – so scheint es – aufgegangen.
Freude also herrscht – und zu unliebsamen «Misstönen» wie jenen vom Freitagabend schweigt man sich bei der
Art Basel einfach weiterhin aus.
Page 42
Media
Tageswoche
DateJune 16, 2013
Title
Freude herrscht!? [Translation]
Author
Website
Joy prevails?
Art Basel, LISTE and VOLTA deliver a positive summary
70,000 visitors at this year’s Art Basel, 13,000 at LISTE, while y Sunday VOLTA hadn’t published its visitor’s
numbers yet. All three fair are pleased about a successful conclusion.
Collectors and visitors didn’t flood VOLTA but many galleries secured very good sales and also LISTE talks
about an “impressive audience and strong sales.” Art Basel was pleased to welcome numerous collectors
and a professional audience, boosted by the presence famous artists, such as Roni Horn or Sean Scully, at
this year’s fair.
High-quality art
Of course it’s all about sales, which went obviously pretty well – especially during both preview days (as already
mentioned on Thursday). Hardly surprising as the art exhibited at Art Basel once again proved once its undeniably
high quality. Even if one might miss some nuance, the rare peculiarities that might not be the first thing to find a
buyer but that would stick in the visitor’s mind.
Indeed, tough fare was hard to find. Even in this top segment, the galleries brought art that would sell well. And
in the final calculation, it seemed everything worked out. In general, there’s a good mood, but with regard to the
unpleasant dissonance on Friday night, they remain silent.
Page 43
Media
artlyst
DateJune 21, 2013
Title
Beyond Basel A Final Glance At 2013
Author
Ilka ScobiePublished
Website
Barely recovered from Venetian art overload, we arrived
in Zurich just in time for Galerie Eva Presenhuber’s
dinner for Ugo Rondinone’s show, “Soul.” The Zurich
show is a continuation of his stone tribe of humanoid
figures, first seen in New York City’s Rockefeller Center
and Barbara Gladstone Gallery. A long time artistic
hangout, the elegant restaurant Kronhalle boasts a
collection with works by Picasso, Matisse, Chagall and
many Swiss artists.
Contemporary Art Weekend, when over two dozen
galleries opened, coincided with Zurich’s Family pride
celebration, so artists and alternative families shared the
Lowenbrau streets.
Cameron Jamie’s comprehensive solo show at Kuntshalle Zurich covers his twenty year career, ranging from
early staged photographs to his shamanic masks. Ceramic and painted sculptures resembled tribal totems.
Photography, drawings, sculpture, and films invite the audience into Jamie’s world of magical subcultures.
Other enigmatic work included the installation of American artist Trisha Donnelly’s multi media show “april.” Jay De
Feo’s virtuoso drawings, photos and one knock out abstract painting offer a great introduction to the pioneering
female San Francisco artist. Both shows are at Eva Presenhuber.
Halfway between Zurich and Basel is the contemporary Swiss museum, Aargauer Kunsthaus (museum in German).
Their current show “Rhythm In It” included 37 artists working in film, video, installation, and kinetic works. Hans
Richter, Jean Tingueley, Stan Douglas, and Christian Marclay are included, as is Swiss national treasure Ferdinand
Holder. Rondinone’s target paintings are an additional highlight.
Twenty four hours too early for the big Art Basel opening, we headed to LISTE, where 66 galleries presented
work of artists under 40. Strong painting thrived in Anna-Lise Coste’s jazzy calligraphic black and white works
at Nogueras Blanchard of Spain, and Dependance of Brussels highlighted Richard Aldrich’s gestural canvases.
London’s Ibid Gallery went with a solo show of Rallou Panagrotuou’s intriguing assemblages.
A quick shuttle ride away, VOLTA9 focused on new and emerging artists. I ran into my Noho New York
neighbor, Kathy Grayson of The Hole, who showed abstractions, including the trippy work of Holton Rower.
Galleria Marie Laure Fleish of Rome featured drawings, and I especially liked the cosmological mappings of
Nikolaus Ganstere. I loved the” Choose Your Religion” piece by Stoneman, represented by Unguided Basel
and appreciated him granting me another chance as my first hit yielded Scientology, which I was then able
to exchange for Shinto. Charlie Smith of London presented artistic responses to Freudian discordance, with
a wonderful Eric Maniguad drawing and a haunting John Stark painting. Everyone grabbed one of the chic
black VOLTA carryalls and vied for service at the more then decent outdoor restaurant. Reports are that Volta
did a brisk business, despite rumors of a smaller then hoped for crowd.
[...]
The journey back to Italy unexpectedly rivaled the visual opulence of Art Basel. Besides a quick detour through
the snow capped mountains and crystalline skies of the Alps, I was lucky enough to visit the Emma Kunz Centre
in Wuernlos, Switzerland. The Swiss mystic was as renowned for her psychic healing abilities as her geometrically
profound drawings. I first knew of her work from a group show curated by Ugo Rondinone, and now her drawings
are included in the momentous Encyclopedic Palace curated by Massimiliano Gioni in Venice. Along with the
museum that houses her sacred geometrical drawings, visitors can walk into the Roman quarry, a grotto Kunz
considered her personal vortex where she went to “recharge her batteries” and “be in the light.”
Page 44
Media
Kunstmarkt
DateJune 22, 2013
Title
Nach der Messe geht’s weiter
Author
Marianne Hoffmann
Published
Website
Nach der Messe geht’s weiter
Viele Satellitenmessen umkreisen die Königin „Art Basel“, wollen etwas von ihrem Glanz erheischen und vor
allem von ihren Besucher profitieren
Sie sind aus Basel nicht wegzudenken, die vielen Satellitenmessen der Art Basel. Fast scheint es, dass jedes
Jahr neue Formate in dem humusreichen Boden sprießen, den die unangefochtene Leitmesse in der Rheinstadt
bereitet hat. Die Kunstwelt trifft sich hier, und jeder möchte sich von dem großen Kuchen ein Stück abschneiden.
Gut, dass es den Service der Shuttle-Busse gibt, die fast ohne Unterbrechung von der Art Basel zur Volta,
zum Solo Project oder zur Liste fahren. Stößt der Besucher in der Kunstwoche auf ein unendliches Programm?
Zeit ist das, was man nach Basel mitnehmen sollte. Die Nebenmessen haben sie verdient. Viel war zu sehen,
zu entdecken, manches konnte man getrost vernachlässigen, und der Geldbeutel sollte auch für die kleinen
Verkaufsschauen zur Kunst der Gegenwart gut gefüllt sein.
[...]
VOLTA
Die VOLTA gibt sich selbstbewusst anders. In diesem Jahr erinnerten wieder die Ausweise der Galeristen an
die Erkennungsmarken der Bundeswehr oder, wollte man es freundlicher betrachten, an die bunten Anhänger
für Kellerschlüssel und Co. Zum vierten Mal war die VOLTA, die 2005 zum ersten Mal in stattfand und 2008
den Sprung über den großen Teich nach New York wagte, in der Dreispitzhalle präsent. Alles ist in dieser
Industriehalle bunter und unübersichtlicher. Man konnte sich zwar an den Hinweisschildern für die einzelnen
Sektionen halten, musste aber deshalb noch lange nicht überall gewesen sein. Wer den Pioniergeist nicht
hatte, war auf der VOLTA verloren. Doch die Profis der Branche machten hier ihre Schnäppchen und freuten
sich über manche Neuentdeckung.
Ein in Zürich beheimateter Sammler erwarb alle drei abstrakten Gemälde von William Bradley, Jahrgang 1984.
Sie lagen preislich zwischen 4.000 und 12.000 Euro. Vertreten wird der Brite durch die Londoner Galerie
EB&Flow. Ein New Yorker Sammler nahm bei The Hole aus New York einen Monolithen von Kadar Brock für
12.000 Dollar mit. Doch nicht nur an Sammler wurde verkauft, sondern auch an Museen und Stiftungen. So
konnte Chaplini aus Köln die minimalistischen, monochromen Holztafeln von Philip Seibel an ein Londoner
Museum abgeben, und eine Schweizer Stiftung entdeckte die motiv- und bezugsreichen Werke von Simón
Vega, der auf der aktuellen Biennale von Venedig sein Heimatland El Salvador repräsentiert, bei Hilger Brot
Kunsthalle aus Wien. Die Liste der Verkäufe ließe sich fortsetzen.
Die Internationalität der Galeristen, die die Volta bespielten, musste sich nicht hinter der großen Art Basel
verstecken. Allein zwei Galerien waren aus Kapstadt gekommen. Brundyn + Gonsalves präsentierten Sanell
Aggenbachs überirdisch schöne, surreale Gemälde. Ihr Hauptwerk, eine durch überdimensionierte Pfeile
verletzte Fantasielandschaft, kostete 12.000 Euro. Sehenswert war die Show zu Hamish Fulton bei der
spanischen Galerie Espaivisor. Galerist Mira Bernabeu konnte vier Werke zwischen 7.200 und 13.000 Euro an
die Kundschaft bringen, freute sich über die vielen Komplimente zu seinem Stand und befand: „Der Verkauf
allein ist nicht so wichtig, wichtig ist das Interesse und die Reputation für die Künstler.“ Wer auf dieser Messe
nach einem Katalog fragte, der wurde auf die Infoblätter an den Kojen hingewiesen. So konnte man sich nur
das mitnehmen, was einen interessierte, und hatte eine sehr individuelle Erinnerung an eine originelle und
quicklebendige Messe.
[...]
Page 45
Media
Kunstmarkt
DateJune 22, 2013
Title
Nach der Messe geht’s weiter [Translation]
Author
Marianne Hoffmann
Published
Website
It goes on after the fair
Satellite fairs surrounding the queen Art Basel try to profit from its glamour and especially from its visitor
numbers
You can’t imagine Basel without the satellite fairs surrounding Art Basel. Each year, new formats seem to appear
in the fertile soil created by the undisputed main fair in the city on the Rhine. This is where the art world meets,
and everyone wants a slice of the pie. Nonstop shuttle buses connect Art Basel with VOLTA, solo project and
LISTE. Are visitors met with a never-ending program during Art Basel week? They should take their time in Basel:
much to see, a lot to discover, a few things to safely disregard, and a pretty well-stuffed wallet even for the smaller
contemporary art fairs.
[...]
VOLTA
VOLTA confidently presents itself with a difference. This year, their exhibitor badges were again like army
dog-tags (or to put it less militarily, to a colorful key ring). For the fourth consecutive time, VOLTA -- founded
in 2005 and present in NY since 2008 -- took place in the Dreispitzhalle. Everything is more colorful and less
clear. One could indeed stop in front of the signs for each individual section, but that didn’t mean you would
have made it everywhere. Without a dose of pioneer spirit, you would have been at a loss. But the art world
professionals are striking their bargains here and are excited about their new discoveries.
EB&Flow (London) sold all three of young artist William Bradley’s (born 1984) abstract paintings (range 4,000
- 10,000 EUR) to a Zurich-based collector. The Hole (New York) sold one of Kadar Brock’s abraded and
textured abstract monoliths ($12,000) to a New York collector. But sales were made not only to collectors
but also to museums and foundations. CHAPLINI (Cologne) sold one of Philip Siebel’s beguiling wood grain
panels to a London museum, while HilgerBROTKunsthalle (Vienna) cleared an entire hanging of the Venice
Biennale’s El Salvador representative Simón Vega’s mixed-media works to a prominent Swiss foundation. The
list of sales continued.
The international flair of the exhibitors didn’t take a back seat to Art Basel. Already three galleries came from
Cape Town (South Africa), one of which, Brundyn + Gonsalves, presented Sanell Aggenbach’s supernatural
and surreal paintings. The major piece, a fantasy landscape penetrated with three-dimensional arrows, went
for 12,000 EUR. Mira Bernabeu, of his Spanish gallery espaivisor - Galería Visor (Valencia), enjoyed great
success in his booth. He sold four works by Hamish Fulton (7,200 - 13,000 EUR). “A lot of collectors are
congratulating me on my booth ‘exhibition’,” Bernabeu related. “Sales alone are not so important, what’s
important is the reputation and interest in the artists.”
Visitors inquiring about the fair catalogue were referred to take the information sheets displayed in each
booth. In this way you could take only what interested you and end up with a very individual memory of an
original and lively art fair.
[...]
Page 46
Basel’s cutting edge art fair
for new and
emerging art
Preview (By invitation only)
monday, June 10, 10 am – 2 Pm
PuBlic Hours
monday, June 10, 2 Pm – 7 Pm
tuesday – saturday,
June 11 – 15, 10 am – 7 Pm
closed on sunday
location
dreisPitzHalle, Helsinkistr. 5
Basel / müncHenstein
switzerland
direct sHuttles from
art Basel and liste
www.voltasHow.com
D e s i g n : w w w. h a u s e r - s c h w a r z . c h
o f f i c i a l m e d i a Pa r t n e r
532 tHomas Jaeckel
new york
adn
Barcelona
alarcÓn criado
seville
a n n a n o va
saint PetersBurg
aranaPoveda
madrid
martin asBæk
coPenHagen
asPn
leiPzig
at H r
JeddaH
BalzerartProJects
Basel
BasteJs
riga
federico BiancHi
milan
andreas Binder
municH
seBastian Brandl
cologne
rena Bransten
san francisco
B r u n d y n + g o n s a lv e s
caPe town
BrunnHofer
linz
laura Bulian
milan
cHaPlini
cologne
etHan coHen
new york
connersmitH.
wasHington
dillon
new york
dukan
Pa r i s
eB&flow
london
cHristoffer egelund
coPenHagen
e s Pa c i o m í n i m o
madrid
e s Pa i v i s o r
va l e n c i a
J o n at H a n f e r r a r a
new orleans
marie-laure fleiscH
rome
fortlaan 17
gHent
froscH&Portmann
new york
J u l i a g a r n at z
cologne
muriel guéPin
new york
enrique guerrero
mexico city
H.a.n.
seoul
Pat r i c k H e i d e
london
Helsinki contemPorary
Helsinki
HilgerBrotkunstHalle
vienna
new york
tHe Hole
i n t e r n at i o n a l 3
mancHester
JarmuscHek
Berlin
kleindienst
leiPzig
kruPic kersting || kuk
cologne
martin kudlek
cologne
larm
coPenHagen
cHristian larsen
stockHolm
P e t e r l av
coPenHagen
léna & roselli
BudaPest
ma2
tokyo
ron mandos
amsterdam
mario åmazzoli
Berlin
P74
lJuBlJana
Pa B l o ’ s B i r t H d ay
new york
Poulsen
coPenHagen
Pro
madrid
Purdy Hicks
london
d av i d r i s l e y
coPenHagen
tyler rollins
new york
ruBicon
duBlin
eduardo secci
florence
skaPe
seoul
slag
B r o o k ly n
smac
stellenBoscH
cHarlie smitH
london
s P e c ta
coPenHagen
stene ProJects
stockHolm
Jiri svestka
Prague / Berlin
teaPot
cologne
t e z u k aya m a
osaka
tint
tHessaloniki
v1
coPenHagen
va n e
newcastle uPon tyne
vernon
Prague
w H at i f t H e w o r l d
caPe town
widmer+tHeodoridis
zuricH
Page 47

press summary 2013

Transcription

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