BASEL.- Gagosian is celebrating the gallery’s thirtieth year at Art Basel with a major presence throughout the city, anchored by a presentation at the fair curated by Francesco Bonami. In addition, the gallery takes an ambitious approach to Art Unlimited, showing more large-scale works than ever before, while a group exhibition at Gagosian’s permanent space at Rheinsprung 1 offers a distinct space to explore the gallery’s program in even more depth.

At the fair, Bonami mixes new, recent, and rare artworks in groupings that invite comparison across mediums and between artists represented by the gallery. He explains: “We are bridging the gap between curatorial idealism and the art fair format, and we are doing so at scale, highlighting signature works from Gagosian artists and placing them in thoughtful dialogue with each other.”

Among the themes in Bonami’s presentation one can find the assertion of identity and anonymity, the continuing relevance of the past, and the vibrancy and vulnerability of human culture and the natural world.

Pablo Picasso’s Enfant assis (1939) and Tête de femme (1951) exemplify the modern master’s thematic consistency, exploring the stages of life and formal inventiveness across mediums. In an untitled painting from 2012, Rudolf Stingel interprets a photographic portrait of Picasso from the 1930s with meticulous realism and veils his predecessor’s features with abstract drips and spatters.

Maurizio Cattelan’s lifelike sculpture No (2021) is a semi-recognizable kneeling figure whose head is covered by a paper bag. Rather than concealing identity, it reveals, compelling us to distinguish evil and any attempts to mask it. Further investigating notoriety and anonymity, Richard Avedon’s portrait photograph of Andy Warhol from 1969 also obscures its subject’s head while uncovering scars from his infamous shooting.

Lobster (2007–12) by Jeff Koons interprets an inflatable pool toy in colorful and highly reflective stainless steel, appealing both to childhood nostalgia and a Surrealist fascination with the crustacean. A new sculpture by Urs Fischer replicates the marble Dancer with Cymbals (1809–12) by Italian neoclassicist Antonio Canova (1757–1822), piercing the figure with the limbs of a standing bronze skeleton that echoes her stance.

Made by contorting tubes of steel and applying urethane paint, Carol Bove’s Chewed Jubilee (2024) takes modernist formalism as its point of departure. The work’s precisely crumpled form and matte finish defy material expectations, giving the sculpture a deceptive impression of malleability and lightness.

Composed across two canvases, a new painting by Jadé Fadojutimi emerges from her orchestration of lush color and exuberant gestures. The atmosphere of dynamic growth and vibrant synergies suggests botanical and landscape elements, though her composition is ultimately abstract.