Meanwhile, you have to order. Art Basel It fills you so much of stimuli, meetings, wonder that there is a need to sediment, to unite the dots. It is said that it is the queen of art fairs, but, a bit like it happened with the Salone del Mobile in Milan, the fair goes far beyond itself: it invades the city, fills it with international guests and offers everything that can, even more.
And then, trying to organize thoughts, here’s what has remained in the eyes, head and heart of this edition of Art Basel 2025.
1 – Before even entering
Messeplatz, the square in front of the main entrance of the fair, has become a total work of art, with a monumental installation of the German artist Katharina Grosse. We find ourselves in the middle of the fuchsia and white giant brush strokes: this is a nice welcome, not only because it immerses you in the artistic context, but because it changes face to a public space that thus becomes very special, never seen before.
2 – The entrance with Marinella Senator
Apart from the aesthetic beauty of the circular light, a gigantic lace made of bulbs, the message is a mònito, a hope, advice, a confession called in 34 meters of work of art: “i ‘M contains Multitudes. We laughed by lifting others “ (“I contain multitudes. We raise ourselves by lifting the others”). Let’s keep it there, because it is truly a great teaching, expressed here in a wonderful way.
3 – We are nature
Art says it well, because it makes it feel without too many moralistic explains: we are nature, there is no distinction, we are interconnected. What is human is natural and nature asks for collaboration. There are hive inside sculptures (Anna Hulacova), there are silkworms that work between decorated windows (Liang Shaoji), there are shells that support wax corals (Mark Hanforth), bark that act as a basic bronze statues (Harumi Klossowska de Rola), stones with the swords (Seung-taek lee), Metallic (on XiaoBai), leaves with embroidery (Susanna Bauer) and hay in glass pipes (Monika Hardy). Nature thus enters the artifacts.
4 – The war is there and you can see
The war feels, because we are surrounded by wars. It is not forgotten that art does not forget it, because you have to scream it, we must ask for peace and, meanwhile, it helps to share fears. And so there are statues with helmets and rifles (Atelier Van Lieshout), posters that “scream loudly” (Raša Todosijević) and the word war (War) Bounces everywhere (Barbara Kruger).
5 – A lot, so much, lots of textiles
There are plots, embroidery, long threads and cooked wool. As if you want to regain a know -how ancient, you feel the desire for warmth, softness, of being all down to the ground, perhaps lying down to tell stories and get lost in a thousand colors. Some are XXL rugs (Sagarika Sundaram), others are compositions made with the fabric that become paintings (badly badly Mirga-Tas) and others are intertwining on weaves that take shapes (Sheila Hicks). Many artists showed up with textile works: from Alicia Brown to Evren Temel, from Yinka Shonare to Igehaan Adams, to the large installation of Hylozoic/Desires, with 80 meters of cotton sheets, put there to tell the Inland Customs Line, one of the most ambitious projects of the British Empire.
6 – Transparency games
I see and I don’t see, look further. As if you could have different perspectives with a single look. Whoever is here sees those who are there and vice versa, with overlapping and stratification of colors and transparencies. There are many works that become crossed: some are made of colored glass, others have networks, others still very thin fabrics and grids.
7 – The looks of others
No, there is not only the world from the equator up: there are aesthetic, customs, ways and models that come from Africa, the Middle East, from South America. These are looks that are present. And menomal. There is the feeling of a world, for once, whole.
8 – One of the Masterpieces
A show: at the center of the section Unlimited of Art Basel, dedicated to monumental works, appear to them, i Witnesses by Mimmo Paladino, for the first time presented in complete form outside Italy. They are 20 sculptures in natural tuff, which have conquered the public, leaving it ecstatic.
9 – Obviously we need trees
There are trees of all form, of every color, of emerging artists and of the art giants. They range from those broken down by Magritte to the exotic ones of the Colombian artist Ana González, there are the famous ones by Mario Schifano and the colored ones of Salvo. The artist the American B. Wurtz makes them with plastic bags, while Celia Paul paints them with his melancholy style. However, there are infinite ones. Maybe that we miss it?
10 – Videos change shape
Once upon a time there were clearly visible screens and projectors. Now the videos are integrated, as if they were objects. They enter the crystals (Jakup Nepraš), are suspended inside the bottles (Michelangelo Bastiani), interact with physical elements (Marks) and overlap with the paintings (Zilla Leuthenegger).
11 – The Fuori Art Basel
There is a path always organized by the fair, which is called Parking With more than twenty installations throughout the city. Some are truly surprising, not only for the works itself, but also for the locations chosen: from the altars of the churches (not deconsecrated, but active for their faithful) to ethnic shops. A large widespread museum.
12 – Many other fairs
In addition to Art Basel, there is everything that revolves around her, with various exhibitions, activities and galleries. The museums (see the Kunstmuseum) and the foundations (the Beyeler for example) have incredible exhibitions and there are real parallel fairs: from the vault Basel to the Art Fair Basel lists, and then, again, June Basel, Basel Social Club, Swiss Art Awards … how to say, the fair acts from Booster to much more.
13 – A strangeness
There are works of art of Sacha Kanah, a young Milanese artist, who are made with a seaweed called Kelp, who manages to give shape to the water. A strange procedure, interesting to discover.
14 – and a discovery
This has nothing to do with art, but it is certainly an ingenious thing. People, in Basel, bathe in the Reno river and let themselves be transported by the current. So you enter one point and tend to go out into another, perhaps even rather far away. And then everyone is equipped with one Wickelfischa watertight bag, which becomes a floating to lean on, in which to store your possessions when you enter the water since then, after bathing, you will find yourself elsewhere. They cost around 30 Swiss francs (32 euros). To have for an unforgettable experience.
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
