VOLTA14: Special Projects and Partnerships
MEYERS Culinarium at VOLTA14
VOLTA — Basel’s art fair for new international positions — is pleased to announce special projects and partnerships at its 14th Basel edition and debut at Elsässerstrasse 215, near Voltaplatz and Novartis Campus. VOLTA14 Basel opens on Monday, June 11, concurrent with Art Basel Week, and concludes on Saturday, June 16, with a special Public Soirée from7 until 9 PM.
Local chef and five-time VOLTA cuisinier Marcus Meyer moves his hallowed kitchen from its base at Markthalle to a pop-up bistro and garden dining hall at Elsässerstrasse 215. Meyer sources the freshest, seasonal ingredients from around the region, channeling his Kochwerkstatt (cooking workshop) MEYERS Culinarium into a menu of delectable reinterpretations of classic dishes, with a covetable prix-fixe for reservations.
Local design duo Kyburz Made, founded by siblings Rainer and Tobias Kyburz, outfit the VOLTA Basel lounge with their signature furniture constructed entirely from reclaimed materials. The brothers describe their high-quality pieces as “located at the intersection of history, beauty, and reduction”. Chairs, benches, and tables from “Swiss Frame”, Kyburz Made’s current collection, as well as a preview of their upcoming outdoor furnishings collection, will be on view and available for purchase.
Aesop, a longtime VOLTA partner in skincare and lifestyle, unveils an installation at the fair created by students of HEAD – Geneva School of Art & Design as a plan for an in-store project. Aesop will feature their summer products line, including the new In Two Minds skincare range. Concurrent with their presence at the fair, Aesop stages its fourth consecutive activation at its Basel Spalenberg boutique during Art Basel Week, featuring a VOLTA-exhibiting artist. This year, Aesop collaborated with Primae Noctis (Lugano) and Abdoulaye Konaté, an internationally-acclaimed artist from Mali, who will produce a lifesize print of his new textile artwork, Bleu au cercle rouge et jaune; the original will be installed at the gallery’s stand at VOLTA.
GÔMEZ, Omnia fert aetas, Rome, August 2015
In concert with their booth project, Montoro12 Contemporary Art (Rome/Brussels) stages a live wall painting by Luis Gomez de Teran, aka GOMEZ. The Venezuelan artist will revisit the Phryne by José Frappa — depicting the titular fourth century BC Greek courtesan who was tried famously for impiety — in his site-specific mural for VOLTA14 Basel. GOMEZ will begin the basic design on June 10 and will begin painting it beginning on June 11, during the Collectors Preview, with a planned completion date of mid-week. GOMEZ has executed murals all over the world, including Mumbai, Barcelona, Berlin, and his home base of Rome, encompassing his ongoing research of reflecting art historic Masters in a contemporary light.
Eddie Hara, Son of the Gun, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 150 x 200 cm
Artstübli, the local commercial gallery and urban art advocate founded by Philipp Brogli, activate an exterior wall adjacent to the fair entrance with a vinyl by Eddie Hara, a prominent Indonesian artist based in Basel. Hara’s oeuvre, reflecting upon sociopolitical issues including racism, feminism, and poverty, has been exhibited worldwide, including at the Singapore Art Museum and the Museum der Kulturen Basel. He is subject of the solo exhibition This is NOT Street Art! at Artstübli, and he will be present at the gallery for a meet and greet at4PMonThursday, June 14, during Art Basel Week. Additionally, Sebastien Pierre Portron, partner and art consultant at Artstübli, will lead a small group of VOLTA VIPs on a Harbor Tour of urban artworks at3PMonTuesday, June 12. Space is extremely limited, and interested guests should RSVP via Artstübli.
Pins Collective collaborates with the fair team with Expressionables, a new form of wearable art that echoes the community’s focus on collapsing the barrier between the digital and “real” world with unique and customizable GIF pins. For VOLTA14, François Beaurain has uploaded designs for the staff to wear and for guests to acquire and share. Based in Paris, the interdisciplinary artist’s pioneering work with animated images and his experimental take on photography reflects his ongoing passion for Nollywood cinema as well as his efforts on diagnosing climate change. Beaurain has exhibited worldwide, including LagosPhoto (2015), the Guggenheim Bilbao (2016) and the Biennales of Moscow and Changjiang (2017).
