In mid-June, as every year, any self-respecting collector, museum director and art lover travels to Switzerland for the world’s leading art fair. A look back at Art Basel 2019 proofs again that there is no comparable event. The show reflects what is going on on the art market, who is trendy and who are the gold standard artists. In 2019, works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paula Rego, Germaine Richier and Alberto Giacometti impressed me.
The New York gallery Van de Weghe Fine Art had three major works by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) on offer. Two had already been sold: an untitled work from 1988, acrylic and oilstick on paper, 230 x 183.5 cm, stamped and dated on the overlap, as well as Tuxedo from 1983, a black canvas with texts in white, acrylic, oil paintstick and silkscreen on canvas, 261 x 152 cm, signed, titled and dated (1982 not 1983) on the reverse. The one Basquiat still available was my favorite, in flashy yellow, visually appealing (check photo below): Onion Gun, 1983, acrylic and oilstick on canvas, 198 x 203 cm, signed on the reverse, still for sale at a hefty $16.5 million.
Marlborough fine art gallery from London presented an impressive Paula Rego (*1935) exhibition with large scale paintings, pastels, acrylics and sculptures. Among the works by the Lisbon-born artist were the pastel The King’s Death from 2014, the mixed media sculpture Gluttony from 2019, 100 x 130 x 150 cm as well as The Family from 1988, acrylic on paper on canvas, for sale for $4.5 million.
Among the more affordable works for sale at Art Basel 2019 were polaroids by the American photographer Walker Evans (1903-1975) made in 1973 and 1974. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City probably owns the largest collection of these small scale polaroids. At Howard Greenberg Gallery (NYC), I spotted roughly a dozen of unique 7.9 x 7.9 cm polaroids, many showing street signs, for $8,000 each.
Vedovi Gallery from Brussels offered a small Germaine Richier (1902-1959) exhibition. I counted 16 sculptures by the French artist. Most of them were for sale. As every year, Landau Fine Art from Montreal is one of my favorite galleries. Among the many great works on offer at Art Basel 2019 was La clairière by Alberto Giacometti (*1901-1966), a fabulous bronze with brown patina, made in 1950 in an edition of 6, 65.4 x 52 x 59.4 cm. Unfortunately only for sale to people with really deep pockets: $25 million.
My great regret remains to have missed one of the signature performances by the Bucharest-born artist and choreographer Alexandra Pirici in the large tent in front of Art Basel’s main entrance. Aggregate was first performed at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein in 2017. The audience mingles with a swarm of performers, who spontaneously chose from a roster of rehearsed enactments; any performer could initiate a movement that others might choose to follow. According to Elvia Wilk, the reference points for these enactments range from the leap of an antelope to Michelangelo’s David to a Depeche Mode song lyric.
An impression of Alexandra Pirici’s performance Aggregate, 2019. Photo copyright © Art Basel.
Vedovi Gallery from Brussels offered a small Germaine Richier exhibition. Photo copyright © Art Basel. Vedovi Gallery
At Van de Weghe Fine Art, they offered three major works by Basquiat. The yellow one entitled “Onion Gun” from 1983 was the only one still for sale when I arrived at the stand. Photo © Art Basel. Van de Weghe Fine Art, New York City.
Rothko, Mirò and Calder were artists on offer at Helly Nahmad Gallery from London. Photo © Art Basel. Helly Nahmad Gallery, London.
A general impression of Art Basel 2019 with the Pilar Corrias art gallery from London in the foreground on the right. Photo © Art Basel.
Further reading: review of / impressions of / discoveries at Art Basel 2017.
Article added on July 10, 2019 at 09:52 Swiss time.
