My Highlights from Art Basel 2014

Artsy Editors
Jun 12, 2014 5:20PM

My Selection:

Daniel Buren, TII-205, 1965, at Xavier Hufkens

It’s always fascinating to look at an artist’s early work, especially before they made their breakthrough statement and fully defined their own vocabulary.

Kaspar Muller, Forever alone and around the world, 2013, at Galerie Francesca Pia

This is a very good video which was shown at his solo show at Kunsthalle Bern. His work is currently on view at Swiss Institute as part of “The St. Petersburg Paradox.” He printed a series of images of all his belongings, and people can call a special cell phone number to bargain with him on a sales price. 

Sarah Ortmeyer, Macho Amore, 2013, at Dvir Gallery

This is from a project Sarah and I worked on together in Milan with Federico Vavassori. When she heard “Milan,” Sarah immediately thought of soccer and the legendary (it was news to me) rivalry between the city’s two homegrown soccer teams, Inter and Milan. This lead to a combination of these two ideas. She worked with her friend Leonard Kahlke on a series of 11 frames where jerseys of both teams were delicately intertwined. They were displayed within a swarming arrangement of baseball caps embroidered with Italy’s very own QUI QUO QUA, France’s RIRI FIFI LOULOU, and the like. It was part Olympic games, part Abel and Cain, part Rocco and His Brothers.

Andy Warhol, n.t. (Boy and Girl Heads), circa 1954, at Daniel Blau

Warhol’s early drawings are incredibly moving and at the polar opposite of his better known serigraphs.

Gary Kuehn, Untitled, 1964, at Galerie Michael Haas

Gary Kuehn’s work was part of “When Attitudes Become Form” (Kunsthalle Bern, 1969) and is now rarely seen. This is an early piece and it shows how advanced a position he held at the time, already taking a significant step away from stark minimalism

Tom of Finland, Untitled, 1975, at David Kordansky Gallery 

These works are starting to be shown more and more in the art context, a long deserved recognition for someone whose visual vocabulary has participated so crucially in the representation of the male body.

Christian Holstad, Dam Berry Basket, 2008, at Massimo De Carlo

This is one of Holstad’s signature collages. It is incredibly intricate and ripe with colorful references and personal narratives featuring dynamite wicks, foraging, underwear, and hushed protests.

Explore Art Basel 2014 on Artsy.

Artsy Editors