BASEL.- For Art 40 Basel the Art Statements sector includes 27 solo shows by young artists. Selected by the Art Basel Committee from a record number of more than 300 applications, the participating artists come from 13 different countries. Art Statements has promoted young artists for over 10 years now, offering them a special platform that brings them to the eyes of an international audience of curators, collectors and art critics. Many past artists have been awarded major exhibitions as a result of being discovered at Art Statements. These 27 projects promise art enthusiasts interesting and stimulating encounters with work from the rising generation of artists.

This year Art Basel’s Selection Committee has focused above all on artists who are little-known or represent complex artistic positions. All projects on show will be created especially for Art 40 Basel. The participating artists come from Germany, USA, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, UK, Belgium, Netherlands, China, Ireland, Sweden, Spain and Brazil.

Since 1999, the Bâloise Group has awarded its annual Baloise Art Prize of CHF 25,000 per recipient to two outstanding Statements projects. This year the price has been raised to CHF 30,000 for each artist. This year’s jury is composed of Dr. Petra Roettig, Director of Galerie der Gegenwart, Hamburger Kunsthalle; Philipp Kaiser, Curator at MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Professor Edelbert Köb, Director of MUMOK Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation in Vienna; Walter Vanhaerents, VanhaerentsArtCollection, Brussels und Martin Schwander, external art advisor of Bâloise and Chairman of the Jury. The company also acquires works by the award-winning artists and donates them to important European institutions. Once again this year the institutions are the Hamburger Kunsthalle und the MUMOK Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation in Vienna. Last year the Baloise Art Prize was awarded to Duncan Campbell and Tris Vonna-Mitchell.

The following artists have been selected for this year’s edition of Art Statements:

Geert Goiris, born in 1971
(Art: Concept, Paris)

Luca Frei, born in 1976
(Balice Hertling, Paris)

Richard Aldrich, born in 1975
(Bortolami, New York)

Stephen G. Rhodes, born 1977
(Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin)

Leslie Hewitt, born in 1977
(D'Amelio Terras Gallery, New York)

Hanna Schwarz, born in 1975
(Dépendance, Brussel)

Seb Patane, born in 1970
(Fonti, Napoli)

Nina Könnemann, born in 1971
(Galerie Karin Guenther, Hamburg)

Josh Brand, born in 1970
(Herald St, London)

Guido van der Werve, born in 1977
(Galerie Juliette Jongma, Amsterdam)

Benedikt Hipp, born in 1977
(Galerie Iris Kadel, Karlsruhe)

Pamela Rosenkranz, born in 1979
(Karma International, Zurich)

Gianni Caravaggio, born in 1968
(francesca kaufmann, Milano)

Anna Kolodziejska, born in 1976
(Galerie Bernd Kugler, Innsbruck)

Guo Fengyi, born in 1942
(Long March Space, Beijing)

Aleana Egan, born in 1979
(Mary Mary, Glasgow)

Nina Canell, born in 1979
(mother's tankstation, Dublin)

Patricia Dauder, born in 1973
(ProjecteSD, Barcelona)

Michal Budny, born in 1976
(Raster, Warsaw)

Jordan Kantor, born in 1972
(Ratio 3, San Francisco)

Kboco, born in 1978
(Marília Razuk Galería de Arte, São Paulo)

Nora Schultz, born in 1975
(Sutton Lane, London)

Dan Rees, born in 1982
(T293, Napoli)

Fiete Stolte, born in 1979
(Sassa Trülzsch, Berlin)

Mathew Hale, born in 1964
(Galerie Wentrup, Berlin)

Katinka Bock, born in 1976
(Galerie Jocelyn Wolff, Paris)

Pawel Ksiazek, born in 1973
(Żak Branicka, Cracow)

Art Statements represents Art Basel’s commitment to promote emerging artists with ambitious projects. This dedication for supporting younger positions in a concentrated sector has been sustained for over three decades now - the sector Perspektiven, Neue Tendenzen, Young Galleries, and, since 1996, Art Statements have consistently offered galleries of contemporary art a platform guaranteeing them significant attention.

The fact that Art Basel is an international benchmark for the latest artistic trends, and that curators from kunsthalles and museums frequently select Art Statements artists for their exhibition programs, is a tribute to the enormous success of the sector. Word travels fast when top curators invite artists to take part in their exhibitions, when works are acquired for distinguished collections, and when exhibitions are placed in well-known museums and galleries. Among the artists who made their appearance at Art Statements before going on to gain worldwide acclaim are Ghada Amer, Kader Attia, Vanessa Beecroft, Pierre Huyghe, William Kentridge, Mariko Mori, Ernesto Neto, João Onofre, Jorge Pardo, Manfred Pernice, Elisabeth Peyton, Ugo Rondinone, Hans Schabus, Gregor Schneider, Kara Walker and Gary Webb.