BASEL.- Art Basel announced the list of exhibitors taking part in the 2021 edition of the fair in Basel. 273 leading galleries from across the globe will present the highest quality of works across all media, from rare and historical masterpieces to new works by today’s emerging artistic voices. A strong line-up of galleries from around Europe will be joined by new and returning exhibitors from across the world, including Asia, North and South America, the Middle East, and Africa.

24 galleries are participating for the first time, including: Ben Brown Fine Arts, with exhibition spaces in Hong Kong, London, and Palm Beach; Bodega, Bridget Donahue, Company Gallery, Garth Greenan Gallery, Kasmin, Lyles & King, Mignoni, Queer Thoughts, and Venus Over Manhattan from New York; Cardi Gallery, with exhibition spaces in Milan and London; Emalin and Union Pacific from London; High Art, Loevenbruck, and Galerie Jérôme Poggi from Paris; Hosfelt Gallery from San Francisco; Isla Flotante and waldengallery from Buenos Aires; LambdaLambdaLambda from Pristina; Lars Friedrich from Berlin; Edouard Malingue Gallery from Hong Kong; Mulier Mulier Gallery from Knokke-Heist; and René Schmitt from Westoverledingen.

The Basel show will return with compelling presentations across its special sectors – Unlimited, featuring large-scale installations that transcend traditional art fair stands; Parcours, showcasing site-specific works throughout the city of Basel; Film; and Conversations – while the city’s Messeplatz will once again be activated with site-specific interventions by artists Monster Chetwynd and Cecilia Bengolea. More details will be released in the coming weeks.

Bringing together Art Basel’s physical and digital platforms in a new scale and format, the Basel edition will embrace a hybrid format. Art Basel Live, the digital initiative which first debuted at Art Basel Hong Kong, will amplify the onsite presentations in Basel, transmitting the vibrancy and excitement from the show floor to the broadest possible global audience through a digital program comprising Online Viewing Rooms, virtual walkthroughs, and social media broadcasts.

In order to best support exhibitors in today’s landscape, Art Basel is offering a series of new models and approaches to participate in the show, including joint and satellite booths, which were first successfully introduced at Art Basel Hong Kong in May and allow exhibitors whose physical presence is not possible to present their own small, curated exhibitions staffed by a local representative appointed by Art Basel.

Marc Spiegler, Global Director of Art Basel, said: ‘While the pandemic has been a time of resilience and innovation, it has not always been one of discovery – patrons have often not been able to discover the work of new artists; likewise, galleries have not had ample opportunities to meet new collectors who can start to engage with and then later sustain their programs. That's why it’s so important to be able to stage our show again in person, while at the same time building upon the digital innovations of the past year to continue engaging the broadest possible audiences worldwide.’

Galleries

The show's main sector this year presents 221 leading galleries, showing painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, photography, video, digital, and editioned works of the highest quality. Six joint booths will be featured in the sector, including: The Approach and Kate MacGarry, Bergamin & Gomide and Galeria Luisa Strina, Konrad Fischer Galerie and Peter Freeman, Inc., Galería Elvira González and Anthony Meier Fine Arts, Madragoa and Galeria Dawid Radziszewski, and David Nolan Gallery and Sperone Westwater. Galerie Jocelyn Wolff’s booth will host Take Ninagawa as a 'Wunderkammer' booth presentation, a new concept allowing exhibitors to stage small exhibitions within another gallery's stand, while Antenna Space, ShanghART Gallery, Tokyo Gallery + BTAP, and Vitamin Creative Space will participate with satellite booths.

Feature

The sector will bring together ambitiously curated solo or duo presentations by 24 galleries, including 11 first-time exhibitors. Highlights from the sector include: Ben Brown Fine Arts’ booth, which explores Lucio Fontana’s beginnings and evolution as a sculptor; Galerie Jérôme Poggi’s presentation of Prix Marcel Duchamp 2020 winner Kapwani Kiwanga’s ‘The Botanics of History’, which focuses on the artist’s works related to plants and botany; one of the first computer-generated poems by Alison Knowles, presented by James Fuentes; Kasmin’s presentation of significant works by Lee Krasner, tracing early experimentations with Modernism and Cubism that would inform the artist’s mature visual language in the decades to follow; and Mira Schor’s monumental painting ‘War Frieze’ (1991–1994), addressing militarism and patriarchy, presented by Lyles & King.

Statements

Dedicated to emerging artists across the globe, Statements will feature 18 solo presentations this year. Highlights from the sector include: ‘In A Sign for Things to Come’ by Vartan Avakian, who works with the volatility, fragility, and flux of neon signs against the backdrop of the economic and political landscape in Lebanon, presented by Marfa'; Company Gallery’s presentation of an immersive installation by Jonathan Lyndon Chase that pays homage to the American mall, a place that the artist remembers as a safe haven while growing up queer and Black; Jessica Silverman’s booth comprised of sculptural works by Rose Bean Simpson, including post-apocalyptic figures that channel the spirits of high art, Pueblo myths, and queer hip-hop; and LambdaLambdaLambda's presentation of Hana Miletić's hand-woven textile works based on photographs taken in the public space of Pristina, Kosovo, in which the weaving process becomes a way to counteract the economic, political, and social forces at work.




The 22nd Baloise Art Prize, comprising a cash prize of CHF 30,000 per winner, will be awarded to up to two artists exhibiting in Statements, with recipients to be announced at Art Basel's media reception. In addition, the Baloise Group will acquire works by the selected artists and donate them to two leading European museums, which will hold solo exhibitions of the artists' works.

Edition

Spread throughout both floors of Hall 2 for the first time, the sector will feature 10 leading galleries in the field of prints and editioned works: Niels Borch Jensen Gallery and Editions, Cristea Roberts Gallery, Sabine Knust, Lelong Editions, Carolina Nitsch, Paragon, Polígrafa Obra Gràfica, René Schmitt, Susan Sheehan Gallery, and STPI participating with a Satellite Booth. Lelong Editions will showcase 'Borders' by Barthélémy Toguo on the Spotlight wall facing the Rundhof.

Unlimited

Unlimited, Art Basel's unique platform for projects that transcend the limitations of a traditional art-fair stand, takes place once again in Hall 1. Giovanni Carmine, Director of the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, curates the sector for the first time this year.

Parcours

Parcours will return to the show, featuring site-specific installations and performances throughout the city center of Basel. The sector is once again curated by Samuel Leuenberger, founder of the non-profit exhibition space SALTS in Birsfelden, Switzerland.

Messeplatz

Basel’s Messeplatz will feature public art projects by artists Monster Chetwynd and Cecilia Bengolea, engaging the fair’s visitors as well as the city's residents.

Film

Screened at Stadtkino Basel, the Film program is for the first time curated by Lisbon-born writer and lecturer Filipa Ramos, who is the co-founder and curator of Vdrome. In addition, Marian Masone, New York-based film curator, will select two outstanding film portraits of artists that will be screened during the show week.

Conversations

The Conversations program offers audiences access to first-hand information on the international art world and is programmed by Art Basel and the Berlin-based artist Julieta Aranda. The panels take place in the auditorium.