Liste has been inviting outstanding galleries of the younger generation to show the latest developments in contemporary art for 28 years. Selected artistic positions are presented on three platforms:
Liste Art Fair Basel, 12 – 18 June 2023
Liste Showtime Online, 12 – 25 June 2023
Liste Expedition Online, permanent
Since its foundation, Liste Art Fair Basel has been considered one of the most important places for discovering young international art. The current voices in the international art discourse, presented by primarily young galleries, not only reflect our present but also participate in creating it. To guarantee the best possible presence for the galleries and their artists, alongside the physical fair in Basel, Liste has developed two digital formats: Liste Showtime, the digital edition of the fair, which is taking place for the fourth time this year, and Liste Expedition, a digital research forum and artist index, which has been permanently available since December 2021 and continues to grow annually.
Liste Art Fair Basel, the leading international fair for discoveries in contemporary art, will take place in Hall 1.1 of Messe Basel from 12 – 18 June 2023.
– 88 galleries from 35 countries will present works by more than 100 artists
– 20 galleries have been selected to participate for the first time in Liste Art Fair Basel
– The fair will be held in Hall 1.1 of Messe Basel for the next few years
– The circular fair architecture by the Belgian architecture firm OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen i.c.w. Richard Venlet will be extended this year with sustainable signage produced in collaboration with the graphic design agency FONDAZIONE Europe
– “Whistlers”, an exhibition curated by Sarah Johanna Theurer on the theme of sustainability, will be on display in the interstitial spaces of the fair
– Liste has become an Active Member of the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC)
On Monday 12 June, Liste Art Fair Basel 2023 will open with an exclusive preview for press and VIP guests from 11 am – 6 pm, accompanied by a welcome aperitif from 11 am – 12 pm, generously hosted by Restaurant Manifattura. The public opening will take place from 6–8 pm, followed by a joint opening party with the Swiss Art Awards at Kaserne Basel, starting at 10 pm.
Exhibitors
Under the premise of promoting young international art, the Liste Committee selected 88 galleries from 35 countries for the 2023 edition of the fair. Of the selected galleries, 20 are exhibiting for the first time at Liste Art Fair Basel and on Liste Showtime, including Blue Velvet Projects, Zurich; diez, Amsterdam; E.A. Shared Space, Tbilisi; PHD Group, Hong Kong; Regards, Chicago; Schiefe Zähne, Berlin; Theta, New York; and wanda, Warsaw/Understructures, Kyiv.
Themes
"With Liste Art Fair Basel 2023, we’re noticing a sharply observant generation of artists who are increasingly using time-based media such as video, sound, scent and performance to make socio-political statements. Art is becoming more political again," says Joanna Kamm, director of Liste.
My gaze, your gaze: the importance of positionality
“For the past few years, artists seemed to have taken inward-looking gazes as their starting points, but this year we’re seeing a reversal to outward-facing gazes,” continues Joanna Kamm. With immersive installations, time-related media, AI and computer-generated images, as well as with strong positions in painting and photography, artists such as Merikokeb Berhanu (Addis Fine Art), Mickael Marman (Damien & The Love Guru), Simon S. Belleau (Parc Offsite, Eli Kerr), Roman Štětina (Polansky) and Tant Yunshu Zhong (Tabula Rasa) show how differently the world is seen when it is experienced from different perspectives, under different conditions and in different places.
The perspective of the feminist gaze is strikingly often the starting point. Tora Schultz (palace enterprise) reveals that crash test dummies for cars are always male and develops a female counterpart, while Amber Andrews (Ciaccia Levi) questions how a female view of the female body differs from a male one. Others, such as Sarah Margnetti (Margot Samel) and Josefina Labourt (Piedras), draw attention to unrecognised female work and to the representation of femininity and age, and artists like Mina Squalli-Houssaïni (Lodos) detach symbols of femininity from their connection to domesticity and craft.
The sustainable and cosmological view is another focus. Artists such as Guillaume Dénervaud (Bel Ami) invest in science-fiction fantasies to contrast the destruction of the earth with new ecosystems. Sasaoka Yuriko (PHD Group), on the other hand, has “demons of natural disasters” perform yoga exercises. Chaveli Sifre (Embajada) and Patricia Domínguez (The Ryder) explore ways of healing through spiritual experiences, while others, like Diana Sofia Lozano (Parallel Oaxaca), search for survival strategies through adaptation.
Video, sound and AI in the art market
Technology and time-based art in the form of film, video and sound has long been strongly represented at biennials and institutional exhibitions, but it has been underrepresented in the art market. This year, a change is noticeable: at Liste Art Fair Basel 2023, more than 30 galleries are showing time-based art, which is currently being expanded with artificial intelligence. A wide variety of unique artistic approaches to these technologies will be on view. For instance, Clarissa Baldassarri (Gian Marco Casini) will measure the noise level at the fair; Indonesian collective Tromarama (ROH) uses an algorithm to evoke human singing through a hashtag; Angélique Aubrit & Ludovic Beillard (Valeria Cetraro) bring costumed figures leaning on the booth to life in a corresponding film; and Katz Tepper (Laurel Gitlen) takes the consumption of televised news about the invasion of Ukraine as the starting point for a multi-layered video collage.
Galleries beyond the art capitals
One of Liste’s primary concerns is to give galleries beyond the art capitals a platform and visibility. It is often these galleries that can work more experimentally, as they usually have lower running costs due to their peripheral locations. However, such locations also mean that these galleries, which are essential for young artists, are often not on the itineraries of the international art world. Liste Art Fair Basel provides insight into the work of galleries based in Kampala (Afriart), Lima (Crisis), North Little Rock (Good Weather), Livorno (Gian Marco Casini) and Kyiv (The Naked Room), among others, which strengthen their local art scenes.
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© PHD Group. Sasaoka Yuriko, Gyro, 2018 Single Channel Video. Courtesy of the Artist and PHD Group.
