Gianni Jetzer, director of the Swiss Institute in New York, will return in June to curate Art Basel’s Unlimited Sector for the second time. But this year, the section of the famous Swiss art fair dedicated to supersized art will be bigger than ever — in fact, the largest in its history.
The Unlimited Sector, which is devoted to large-scale artworks and projects, promises 79 works by such luminaries as Theaster Gates, Ai Weiwei, Antony Gormley, Walid Raad, and Adriana Varejao. The show has grown by more than a dozen projects; last year, it had only 62.
Thanks to an extension to the fair's space created by Herzog & De Meuron, Unlimited is also physically expanding. This year, Hall 1 has gotten an additional 2,500 square meters to work with. The auditorium for Art Basel Conversations will be moved from the original Hall 1 to the new extension, leaving Jetzer the chance to work with the entirety of the original 17,000-square-meter exhibition space of Hall 1.
Consequently, Jetzer is thinking even bigger than usual. Among other things, this year, Unlimited will show Matt Mullican's “Two into One becomes Three” (2011), a 72-by-23-foot work comprised of 70 panels of oil stick and acrylic on canvas. Presented by Klosterfelde (Berlin), it is the largest painting that has ever been exhibited within the Sector. Huan Yon Ping, a Chinese-born artist living in France, will show his controversial installation “Abbottabad” (2012), a ceramic replica of the compound where Osama Bin Laden was assassinated in May 2011 transformed into a seedbed, presented by Gladstone Gallery. Indian-born artist L.N. Tallur brings his installation “Vendi, Vidi, Vici” (2013), an inverted roof structure created from tiles manufactured in South India by missionaries from Basel, Switzerland itself. His work, presented by Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, will be his first showing outside the Asian continent. At least one artist, Lygia Clark, won’t be there to see her work. The Brazilian artist known for her Bichos, or interactive foldable aluminum sculptures, had documented her wish to create a giant-sized Bicho called “Fantastic Architecture.” In collaboration with Clark’s estate, Alison Jacques, London will realize the installation as closely as possible to Clark's vision.
Jetzer has also attempted to keep it varied with a healthy dose of performance. Amalia Pica's “Strangers,” presented by Herald St., London, will have two strangers hold a string of colorful bunting for hours, while Martin Creed's “Work No. 850,” presented by Gavin Brown, will feature runners sprinting through the exhibition space every 30 seconds.
Since its inception in 2000, the Unlimited sector has shaken things up, allowing well-known artists the opportunity to think beyond the dimensions of the standard gallery booth. At last year’s fair, Rudolph Stingel’s 11-by-15-foot portrait of legendary dealer Paula Cooper was the subject of much buzz. That work, which was created for the exhibition, sold to super-collector Francois Pinault.
As for which work will draw the most attention this year, we’ll have to wait and see.
To see promised highlights of Art Basel Unlimited 2013, click on the slideshow.
Below, the complete list of artists chosen by the show’s Selection Committee:
Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
Ai Weiwei, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing – Lucerne, Beijing, Lucerne
David Altmejd, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York; Xavier Hufkens, Brussels; Stuart Shave / Modern Art, London
He An, Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris
Carl Andre, Konrad Fischer Galerie, Dusseldorf, Berlin
Kutluğ Ataman, Thomas Dane Gallery, London; Sperone Westwater, New York
Kader Attia, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Beijing, Boissy-le-Châtel
Miroslaw Balka, Gladstone Gallery, New York
Karla Black, Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne; Stuart Shave / Modern Art, London
Iñaki Bonillas, Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin, Stockholm
Peter Buggenhout, Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Berlin
Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Cabinet, London
Chen Zhen, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Beijing, Boissy-le-Châtel
Lygia Clark, Alison Jacques Gallery, London
Matt Connors, Cherry and Martin, Los Angeles; Herald St, London
Martin Creed, Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York
François Curlet, Air de Paris, Paris; Galerie Micheline Szwajcer, Antwerp
Aaron Curry, Almine Rech Gallery, Paris, Brussels
Thomas Demand, Sprüth Magers Berlin London, Berlin, London; Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, Los Angeles
Willie Doherty, Kerlin Gallery, Dublin; Alexander and Bonin, New York; Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich
Latifa Echakhch, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich; kamel mennour, Paris; kaufmann repetto, Milan
Lionel Estève, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, Hong Kong, New York; Albert Baronian, Brussels; Bernier/Eliades, Athens
Ceal Floyer, Lisson Gallery, London, Milan; 303 Gallery, New York; Esther Schipper, Berlin
Günther Förg, Greene Naftali Gallery, New York
Michel François, Xavier Hufkens, Brussels; kamel mennour, Paris
Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe, Marlborough Fine Art, London, New York, Barcelona, Madrid, Monte Carlo, Vitacura/Santiago
Dara Friedman, Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York
Meschac Gaba, Stevenson, Cape Town, Johannesburg
Theaster Gates, White Cube, London, Hong Kong, São Paulo
Simryn Gill, Tracy Williams Ltd., New York
Antony Gormley, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Beijing, Boissy-le-Châtel
Johan Grimonprez, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York; kamel mennour, Paris
Noriyuki Haraguchi, McCaffrey Fine Art, New York
Susan Hiller, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London
Roni Horn, Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, London, New York
Jonathan Horowitz, Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York; Sadie Coles HQ, London; Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin
Huang Yong Ping, Gladstone Gallery, New York
Pierre Huyghe, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York; Esther Schipper, Berlin
Alfredo Jaar, Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin; Galerie Lelong, Paris, New York, Zurich; kamel mennour, Paris; Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, Woodstock, Cape Town
Michael Joo, Kukje Gallery, Seoul, New York
Esther Kläs, Peter Blum Gallery, Blumarts Inc., New York, Zurich
Emil Michael Klein, Federico Vavassori, Milan
Norbert Kricke, Aurel Scheibler, Berlin
Shakuntala Kulkarni, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai
Wolfgang Laib, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris
Sean Landers, Friedrich Petzel Gallery, New York; greengrassi, London
Atelier van Lieshout, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna
Liu Wei, Long March Space, Beijing
Jorge Macchi, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Beijing, Boissy-le-Châtel; Alexander and Bonin, New York; Ruth Benzacar Galería de Arte, Buenos Aires; Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo; Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich
Michel Majerus, neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Teresa Margolles, Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich
Justin Matherly, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York; Johann König, Berlin
Mario Merz, Gladstone Gallery, New York
Matt Mullican, Klosterfelde, Berlin; Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich
Oscar Murillo, Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin
Gina Pane, kamel mennour, Paris
Giulio Paolini, Yvon Lambert, Paris
Claudio Parmiggiani, Meessen De Clercq, Brussels; Simon Lee Gallery, London, Hong Kong
Amalia Pica, Herald St, London; Marc Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles
Rob Pruitt, Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York
Florian Pumhösl, Lisson Gallery, London, Milan; Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York; Galerie Buchholz, Cologne, Berlin
Walid Raad, Sfeir-Semler, Beirut; Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Willem de Rooij, Galerie Buchholz, Cologne, Berlin; Friedrich Petzel Gallery, New York; Regen Projects, Los Angeles; Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris
Thomas Schütte, Bernier/Eliades, Athens
Sean Scully, Cheim & Read, New York
Nobuo Sekine, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles
Chiharu Shiota, Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris
Dayanita Singh, Frith Street Gallery, London
John Stezaker, The Approach, London
Jessica Stockholder, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York; Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris
L.N. Tallur, Nature Morte, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Berlin; Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai
Oscar Tuazon, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich; Maccarone, New York
Tunga, Luhring Augustine, New York; Mendes Wood, São Paulo; Galleria Franco Noero, Torino; Meyer Riegger, Karlsruhe, Berlin
Piotr Uklański, Gagosian Gallery, New York; Massimo De Carlo, Milan, London
Adriana Varejão, Victoria Miro, London; Galeria Fortes Vilaça, São Paulo
Marijke van Warmerdam, Galleri Riis, Oslo, Stockholm; Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo; Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam
Betty Woodman, Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin; Galerie Francesca Pia, Zurich Yan Xing, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing – Lucerne, Beijing, Lucerne
David Zink Yi, Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, London, New York