15 Must-See Booths at Art Basel
From Esther Schipper’s booth, doling out squeeze-it-yourself orange juice, to Helly Nahmad’s hidden back room where one can plop down for a Rothko-gazing reprieve, collectors and art lovers alike are once again spoiled at Art Basel this year. Here are 15 galleries—among the 284 total exhibitors—who’ve nailed their Art Basel presentations.
Herald St
Galleries Section, Booth L2
With works by Christina Mackie, Matt Connors, Michael Dean, Nick Relph, and Matt Paweski
Herald St at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
Your head will turn for the hanging centerpiece by Christina Mackie—she currently has a show on view at Tate Britain—the first of this series to be seen outside of a museum. Handspun silk nets dipped in blood red dye, that crystallizes over time, hint at the artist’s affection for science.
Wien Lukatsch at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
Take an in-depth look at work by West African artist Georges Adéagbo in a wall-covered installation titled Les artistes et l’ecriture—with everything from clothing to vinyl records tacked up—tackling themes ranging from education to apartheid.
Chert at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
Berlin-based artist Kasia Fudakowski presents “Sexistinnen,” a wall-to-wall solo presentation that takes sexism as a primary theme—but in a playful and incisive way. An array of sculptures, including an ombré blue dye-dipped mop titled lower your ambitions that leans against one of said walls, suggest the hurdles Fudakowski has been faced with as a female in the art world.
Andréhn-Schiptjenko
Galleries Section, Booth M17
With works by José León Cerrillo and Gunnel Wåhlstrand
Andréhn-Schiptjenko at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
Just as they were in the recent New Museum Triennial, José León Cerrillo’s installations made of geometric forms are a highlight of the show—and this time, they’re paired with Gunnel Wåhlstrand’s stunning ink-washed works on paper, depicting the sea.
Gavin Brown
Galleries Section, Booth S2
With works by Uri Aran, Thomas Bayrle, Joe Bradley, Kerstin Brätsch, Martin Creed, Karl Holmqvist, Jonathan Horowitz, Joan Jonas, Alex Katz, Mark Leckey, Bjarne Melgaard, Oliver Payne, Rob Pruitt, Steven Shearer, Sturtevant, Spencer Sweeney, Rirkrit Tiravanija
Gavin Brown at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
There’s a lot to see in the typically, and pleasantly, packed booth of Gavin Brown—works by Rob Pruitt, Joe Bradley, Bjarne Melgaard among them—but when you get there, look down. British artist Martin Creed has covered every inch of the floor in mats ordered from an online store—Persian rugs, yoga mats, Snake & Ladders rugs—making every step through the booth an enjoyable one.
Dominique Lévy
Galleries Section, Booth G14
With works by Carl Andre, Lee Bontecou, Alberto Burri, Alexander Calder, Enrico Castellani, Marlene Dumas, Lucio Fontana, Gego, Alberto Giacometti, David Hammons, Barbara Hepworth, Jasper Johns, On Kawara, Agnes Martin, Louise Nevelson, Roman Opalka, Pablo Picasso, Germaine Richier, Gerhard Richter, Robert Ryman, Kazuo Shiraga, Pierre Soulages, Frank Stella, Yves Tanguy, Cy Twombly, Günther Uecker, and Christopher Wool
Dominique Lévy at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
In a booth that runs the gamut of shades of gray—grisaille works ranging from Christopher Wool’s silkscreen paintings to Pablo Picasso’s portrait of a painter donning a hat—Gerhard Richter’s first-ever “Color Chart” painting, from a series begun in 1966, is a wonderfully unexpected, if muted, injection of color.
Helly Nahmad
Galleries Section, Booth H5
With works by Rene Magritte, Pablo Picasso, Monet, Joan Miró, Mark Rothko, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Lucio Fontana, Jean Fautrier, and Jean Dubuffet
Helly Nahmad at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why you should stop
It doesn’t get any better than this at an art fair. In a small, pristine room tucked away in the back of the booth, with plush carpet and cushy seating, hang five works by Picasso, Rene Magritte, Mark Rothko, Claude Monet, and Joan Miró. Arguably a handful of the fair’s most iconic paintings, they’re well worth a longer look than fair-goers often grant.
Gagosian
Galleries Section, Booth B11
With works by Jeff Koons, Georg Baselitz, John Currin, Richard Prince, and Richard Serra
Installation view of Jeff Koons, Cat on a Clothesline, 1994, at Gagosian Gallery, Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
A kitten, in a sock, sandwiched between two Gerbera daisies and pinned to a clothesline—loud, saccharine, larger than life, and so unmistakably ’90s Jeff Koons. We’ll say no more.
OMR at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
Guadalajara-based artist Jose Dávila, who originally trained as an architect, plays with gravity and equilibrium—evidenced by the standout work, where a mirror and boulder are counterbalanced by a tightly bound ratchet strap. OMG, OMR.
RaebervonStenglin at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
Good luck passing Swiss artist Raphael Hefti’s seven-ton CNC milling machine without stopping in your tracks. Like those crowding around you, expect to become entranced while gazing through a window on the machine that offers an unexpectedly satisfying view of the programmed milling head, chipping away at solid aluminum.
Esther Schipper
Galleries Section, Booth S1
With works by Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, Roman Ondák, Ugo Rondinone, Matti Braun, Philippe Parreno, Ryan Gander, Thomas Demand, Tomás Saraceno
Esther Schipper at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
Beneath a ceiling of golden mylar clouds by Philippe Parreno, Daniel Steegmann Mangrané’s Oranges Oranges 2 is a make-your-own juice shop, inviting fairgoers into an orange photo-filtered hut equipped with all the makings for fresh squeezed OJ. Like Steegmann Mangrané’s work recently shown in the New Museum Triennial—offering a look into Brazilian rainforest via an Oculus Rift headset—it’s equally immersive.
Miguel Abreu
Galleries Section, Booth K21
With works by Aaron Flint Jamison, R. H. Quaytman, Sam Lewitt, Florian Pumhösl, Pamela Rosenkranz, Pieter Schoolwerth, Rey Akdogan, Raha Raissnia, Jean-Luc Moulène, and Eileen Quinlan
Miguel Abreu at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
Pamela Rosenkranz’s flesh-colored, spandex canvases on the exterior walls of the booth—and the artist’s Evian bottles filled with skin-colored pigments close in sight —are well worth a visit to dig into the ideas of the 35-year-old artist currently representing Switzerland at the Venice Biennale.
JTT
Statements Section, Booth N7
With works by Borna Sammak
JTT at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
Four installations on televisions—video paintings, perhaps?—by Philadelphia-born artist Borna Sammak warrant the relatively extended stay at the booth (15–90 seconds, depending on the work). Take your pick, but our favorite work dangles from an extension cord—all are in neon colors—against a backdrop of yellow netting.
Franco Noero
Galleries Section, Booth L23
With works by Pablo Bronstein, Lara Favaretto, Tunga, Arturo Herrera, Jason Dodge, and Gabriel Kuri
Franco Noero at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
Walls papered with Argentine artist Pablo Bronstein’s black and white, computer-generated drawings of Industrial Revolution-era machinery, and hung with his ink-and-watercolor work on paper, are one of many reasons to drop by Franco Noero’s booth.
Gladstone Gallery
Galleries Section, Booth G4
With works by Alighiero e Boetti, Richard Prince, Jim Hodges, Anish Kapoor, Carroll Dunham, Philippe Parreno, Keith Haring, Elizabeth Peyton, Ugo Rondinone, R. H. Quaytman, Sarah Lucas
Gladstone Gallery at Art Basel 2015. Photo by Alec Bastian for Artsy.
Why You Should Stop
While New Yorkers hightail uptown to see Phillipe Parreno “H {N)Y P N(Y} OSIS” at the Park Avenue Armory, and those in Venice covet his work in the Biennale, there’s no shortage of the Parisian artist in Basel. His marquee, a suspended light sculpture at the Gladstone booth, brings eyes up—where they’ll linger—on this centerpiece of the stand.
