From a group show in a 17th-century Italian palazzo to an exhibition complex in a former 18th-century Spanish naval hospital, galleries are flocking to Southern European coastlines

Mediterranean shores: six must-see exhibitions

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For some, places like Mallorca, Ibiza, or Monaco conjure scenes of crowded beaches, overpriced cocktails, and questionable architecture. However, these popular destinations&nbsp;– and many others located on the European shores of the Mediterranean – can also eschew such clichés thanks to the significant natural and cultural patrimony they possess. And this does not only include archeological wonders: Modern and contemporary art abounds in the region too, attracting galleries, artists, and collectors alike. Read on to discover six exhibitions on view in this unique territory.

Alex Hubbard, The Border, The Ship II Through August 28, 2021 Eva Presenhuber, Kastro, Antiparos, Greece During the summer months,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1250/Galerie-Eva-Presenhuber" target="_blank">Galerie Eva Presenhuber</a> (Zurich and New York City) also operates a space in a traditional Cycladic building on the Greek island of Antiparos. This year, the gallery presents a new video by American artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8054/Alex-Hubbard" target="_blank">Alex Hubbard</a>, mostly known as a painter of saturated, abstract canvases. The Border, The Ship II (2021) features reoccurring motifs of Hubbard's practice – oozing stains, swirling lines, flashy colors – but not only: Figurative elements such as rats and a blue skeleton are incorporated into the work as well. Sound also plays an important part in the artist's foray into time-based art, from the thumb of footsteps to the squeak of wheels. With The Border, The Ship II, Hubbard continues his investigation of painting itself, anchored in a playful use of disturbances and irritations.

Bernardí Roig, ‘Mehr Licht!’ Kewenig, Palma de Mallorca, Spain Through September 4, 2021 In Palma, the capital city of the Balearic archipelago’s largest island,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1173/Kewenig" target="_blank">Kewenig</a> (Berlin and Palma) has been staging exhibitions in a 13th-century private chapel and adjacent gallery space since 2004. This unique location is currently crowded by a platoon of austere white blocks, seemingly collapsing onto each other, by local artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7812/Bernard%C3%AD-Roig" target="_blank">Bernardí Roig</a>. His somber charcoal drawings FATHER-FACE (Uno) III (2017) and Smoke self-portrait (2020) hint at an interior conflict of sorts, while the central installation of blocks reads as a more conceptual take on the physical properties of light. The exhibition takes its title of ‘Mehr Licht!’ (More light!) from German poet and writer Goethe’s alleged last words; here, Roig uses light and darkness to reflect on visibility and erasure of space, memories, and oneself.

Mark Bradford, ‘Masses and Movements’ Hauser &amp; Wirth, Menorca, Spain Through October 31, 2021 Earlier this summer,&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1153/Hauser-Wirth" target="_blank">Hauser &amp; Wirth</a> opened a new exhibition complex in a former 18th-century naval hospital on Illa del Rei, an islet located a stone’s throw away from the coast of Menorca. Los Angeles–based artist&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7636/Mark-Bradford" target="_blank">Mark Bradford</a> was chosen to inaugurate the location with an ambitious exhibition spanning seven gallery spaces. In ‘Masses and Movements’, Bradford continues his investigation of maps, taking an interest in what they can tell us about global power structures. For example, the world’s southern continents have almost never been depicted to scale throughout history, with cartographers, explorers, and scientists from the Global North choosing inaccuracy over making their countries look small. The show includes a suite of abstract paintings, as well as two wall drawings of world maps the artist realized in collaboration with students from a local art school. In addition, Bradford has created two sculptural installations: One features seven large globes with pitch-black oceans, while the other is comprised of stacked posters that combine advertisements for financial services with images of nature. The resulting show exudes a beguiling yet menacing feeling, proving Bradford remains a skilled explorer of nuance without sacrificing pictorial dynamism.&nbsp;

König Monaco Showroom Monaco Through November 27, 2021 Monaco’s sleek Villa Nuvola, designed by architect Jean Pierre Lott, is currently serving as a stage for works by several&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1575/König-Galerie" target="_blank">König Galerie</a> (Berlin, London, and Seoul) artists. Pieces on view include&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/6701/Jeppe-Hein" target="_blank">Jeppe Hein</a>’s Left Diagonal Cut (100 x 100) (2020), a mirrored rectangle testing the viewer's perception of oneself by way of a gash-like disturbance on an otherwise smooth surface;&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7868/Tue-Greenfort" target="_blank">Tue Greenfort</a>'s Medusa (2007/2014), a Murano-glass jellyfish hinting at the ecological shifts happening in the oceans due to overfishing; and a series of marble sculptures by&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/17964/Claudia-Comte" target="_blank">Claudia Comte</a>, reprising some of the Swiss artist’s favorite shapes (a snake, a donut, a cactus). Comte’s pieces in particular spruce up the showroom’s soothing environment with a dash of humor.

‘Palai’ Collaborative project organized by Balice Hertling and Ciaccia Levi (both Paris) with&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/2002/Antenna-Space" target="_blank">Antenna Space</a>&nbsp;(Shanghai),&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1070/Blum-Poe" target="_blank">Blum &amp; Poe</a>&nbsp;(Los Angeles, New York City, Tokyo),&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1262/Sadie-Coles-HQ" target="_blank">Sadie Coles HQ</a>&nbsp;(London), Bill Cournoyer / The Meeting (New York City),&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1112/Layr" target="_blank">Layr</a>&nbsp;(Vienna), LC Queisser (Tblisi), Veda (Florence), and&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1318/ZERO" target="_blank">ZERO&hellip;&nbsp;</a>(Milan) Lecce, Italy Through September 15, 2021 Parisian galleries&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1340/Balice-Hertling" target="_blank">Balice Hertling</a> and Ciaccia Levi invited eight other galleries from across the globe to stage a group show in the 17th-century Palazzo Tamborino-Cezzi – a palai, in the local dialect – in the Apulian town of Lecce. In the courtyard, bas-reliefs by&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/10274/Isabelle-Cornaro" target="_blank">Isabelle Cornaro</a> mounted on columns contrast with&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/33262/Louis-Fratino" target="_blank">Louis Fratino</a>’s terracotta sculpture of two individuals in an emotional embrace. Figurative paintings by March Avery, metallic sculptures by Morgan Courtois, and textile-based interventions by&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/36742/Martine-Syms" target="_blank">Martine Syms</a> grace the space’s stately rooms. In in the kitchens, ceramic plates by&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/32677/Xinyi-Cheng" target="_blank">Xinyi Cheng</a>, depicting the artist’s signature elusive figures, are spread across a rustic table, as if waiting to be either hung on the adjacent walls or used for a hearty dinner of orecchiette&nbsp;with turnip greens, one of the region’s specialties. This may not be a coincidence: ‘Palai’ celebrates collaboration and community by creating a stimulating dialog between works that, whether conceptually or formally, appear to be speaking the same refined language.

Ugo Mulas, ‘Portraits’ Parra &amp; Romero, Ibiza, Spain Through August 31, 2021 Parra &amp; Romero’s Ibiza space defies expectations: It is a cavernous, industrial hangar that could very well be standing in Brooklyn or Berlin, rather than an island famed for its hippie history and lively party scene. The shows<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1613/Parra-Romero" target="_blank"> Parra &amp; Romero</a> (Madrid and Ibiza) stages in this location are equally refreshing in their unwillingness to match the clichés associated with Ibiza. ‘Portraits’ features the work of&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8589/Ugo-Mulas" target="_blank">Ugo Mulas</a>, an Italian photographer who captured legendary artworld figures such as&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/9213/Joan-Miró" target="_blank">Joan Miró</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/6751/Andy-Warhol">Andy Warhol</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7224/Fausto-Melotti" target="_blank">Fausto Melotti</a> in frank, often irreverent pictures. Even when staging his famous models, it seems as though Mulas prioritized emotional rawness over the numbing artifices of glamor. Take, for example, two 1964 portraits of&nbsp;<a href="https://artbasel.com/catalog/artist/6739/Jasper-Johns" target="_blank">Jasper Johns</a>, photographed during the same sitting and hung next to each other in the show: In the first one, the American artist defiantly looks directly into the camera, one of his canvases hanging in the background; in the second, he is bursting into laughter, seemingly amused by his own serious posing for the camera. Just like Johns, many of Mulas’s subjects appear eerily present, as if aware they are being looked at. Karim Crippa is Art Basel's Senior Digital Editor. Top image: Installation view of Mark Bradford's exhibition 'Masses and Movements', Hauser &amp; Wirth, Menorca, 2021. Photo by Stefan Altenburger. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser &amp; Wirth. &copy; Mark Bradford.

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From a group show in a 17th-century Italian palazzo to an exhibition complex in a former 18th-century Spanish naval hospital, galleries are flocking to Southern European coastlines

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Mediterranean shores: six must-see exhibitions

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