ART FAIRS: Liste Art Fair 2023

Since its foundation, Liste Art Fair Basel has been considered one of the most im-portant 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 and Liste Expedition, a digital research forum and artist index, which has been permanently available since December 2021 and continues to grow annually.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Liste Art Fair Archive

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.  A total of 66 solo and 18 group presentations will be on view, as well as two joint booths. The presented artists are outstanding representatives of their generation and represent the latest developments and tendencies in contemporary art. With immersive installations, time-related media, AI and computer-generated images, as well as with strong positions in painting and photography, artists 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 reveals that crash test dummies for cars are always male and develops a female counterpart, while Amber Andrews questions how a female view of the female body differs from a male one. Others, draw attention to unrecognised female work and to the representation of femininity and age. The sustainable and cosmological view is another focus. Artists  invest in science-fiction fantasies to contrast the destruction of the earth with new ecosystems. Sasaoka Yuriko, on the other hand, has “demons of natural disasters” perform yoga exercises. Chaveli Sifre and Patricia Domínguez explore ways of healing through spiritual experiences, while others search for survival strategies through adaptation. 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. One of Liste’s primary concerns is to give galleries beyond the art capitals a plat-form 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. Curated by Sarah Johanna Theurer, the exhibition “Whistlers” takes up the theme of sustainability with a focus on resilience. Works by Geocinema, Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst, Invernomuto, Davi Pontes & Wallace Ferreira and Tomoko Sauvage will be shown. This year’s special guests: the Helvetia Art Prize 2022 winner, I Never Read, Library and a group exhibition presented by HEK. Helvetia Art Prize 2022 winner: Jonas Van Holanda creates immersive installations that often combine videos with his own texts as well as sculptural objects and sound. The Brazilian-born artist’s research-based practice moves between content conciseness and poetic narration. He deals in-depth with topics such as language, ecology and quantum physics, which he reworks and reinterprets through intimate fictional texts and ephemeral works. For example, in the spatial installation “Moving Towards Us” (2022), for which he received the Helvetia Art Prize 2022, Van Holanda reveals moments of transformation rooted in his own reality and identity as a trans artist. Exploring the physical and philosophical concept of negative entropy, he under-stands physicality as a sensory and temporal experience. I Never Read Book Art Fair, creates a dialogue between artists and their audiences and high-lights the importance of art books as an art form. Together with the exhibitors and artists of Liste Art Fair Basel, I Never Read, is compiling a library for this year’s fair. As a collaborative concept and through the sharing of books, the project I Never Read, Library is a sustainable and democratic place for gallerists and visitors, where inspiration and knowledge are freely accessible to all. This year, HEK is presenting media art by Joana Moll, Entangled Others (Sofia Crespo and Feileacan McCormick) and Christof Nüssli, who address ecological subjects and work to redefine our relationship to the environment. Entangled Others uses machine learning to create new animal and plant forms that celebrate biodiversity and call on humans to appreciate diverse species. With the work “Sediment Nodes” (2022), presented at Liste, the collective explores the microscopic universe of sediment-laden waters. Also on view in the presentation is Joana Moll’s video installation “Carbolytics” (2022), which makes the ecological footprint of the energy costs of global data collection visible. And Christof Nüssli’s installation “Trees Etc.” (2021–23) addresses the effects of global warming in Senegal and shows rituals developed by locals to deal with this catastrophe.

Photo: Raque Ford, A Better Liar, 2023, Acrylic, wood, rubber. Courtesy of the artist and Good Weather, North Little Rock/ Chicago

Info: Artistic Director: Joanna Kamm, Liste Art Fair, Liste Messe Basel in Hall 1.1, Basel, Switzerland, Duration: 12-18/6/2023, Days & Hours: Mon (12/6) 18:00-20:00, Tue-Sat (13-17/6) 12:00-20:00, Sun (18/6) 11:00-16:00, Admission: Regular CHF 25,  Reduced CHF 12.50 (scholars / students / seniors) from 19:00 scholars / students / seniors for free, www.liste.ch/