The sector dedicated to monumental artworks spotlights both historic and of-the-moment pieces

Payal Uttam

Unlimited curator Giovanni Carmine shares his picks

With its museum-like presentation and immersive installations,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/basel">Art Basel in Basel</a>’s Unlimited sector has always been a favorite among fairgoers. After months of lockdowns and viewing art online, it feels particularly special to step into a show of this quality and scale. ‘People are thirsty and eager to experience art in a physical way again,’ says Giovanni Carmine, Director of the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen in St. Gallen, Switzerland, who is curating this sector of institutional-scale works for the first time. ‘This will be a very beautiful and human experience.’A total of 62 pieces will be on view, including paintings, sculptures, fabric works, installations, photography, and video works. ‘The interesting thing about Unlimited is the heterogeneity of proposals,’ says Carmine. ‘It will be exciting to see historical positions juxtaposed with new works by young artists.’While Carmine admits that the pandemic greatly complicated logistics this year, it also provided creative fodder for many artists. Some works directly address the impact of COVID-19, such as American artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/11218/Josh-Smith">Josh Smith</a>’s monumental painting of the empty streets of New York City, or the series of drawings that the Mexican artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8341/Mario-Garc%C3%ADa-Torres">Mario García Torres</a> stuck on the door of his studio, which was shut during lockdown. Others explore topics ranging from Black Lives Matter to fake news and the post-truth era.Here, Carmine reveals six highlights that should not be missed.

Carrie Mae Weems Repeating the Obvious, 2019 <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1267/Jack-Shainman-Gallery">Jack Shainman Gallery</a>, New York City, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1525/Galerie-Barbara-Thumm">Galerie Barbara Thumm</a>, Berlin‘<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/6949/Carrie-Mae-Weems">Carrie Mae Weems</a> is an incredible image-maker and one of the most important living American artists. This installation will confront the viewer with the Black Lives Matter movement. For me, the idea of icons in our society is very interesting. We are in a historical moment during which images drive our communication, so I think this is a strong work. The contemporary world is mainly based on images, whether that’s through Instagram or advertisements. In this work, the images go beyond the idea of an icon. Showing this anonymous person wearing a hoodie reminds us immediately of so many people’s struggles. I think it will be an intimate and powerful experience for viewers to be face to face with this.’

Urs Fischer Untitled (Bread House), 2004–06/2021 <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/10003/Jeffrey-Deitch">Jeffrey Deitch</a>, New York City 


	‘This is a work about fragility. There is a feeling that it could collapse when you stand before it. The piece takes on a totally different meaning today than when it was first done, as we are in a period in which everybody has been confronted by their own fragility. It’s also about so many other things. Bread is a food that unites every culture somehow. It’s an incredibly strong symbol of humanity. It reminds us of Hansel and Gretel or a little witch house. It’s an amazing sculpture and an iconic work by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/7461/Urs-Fischer">Urs Fischer</a>, one that everybody knows or wants to experience once.’&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/6768/Gilbert-George">Gilbert &amp; George </a>London Fog, 1973 <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1059/Alfonso-Artiaco">Alfonso Artiaco</a>, Naples ‘This will be a big surprise as there is nearly no documentation of this work because it has been in private collections. So it’s coming out of the fog. In this early piece, the artists developed the idea of human sculpture, which has been influential even for a younger generation of artists today who are dealing with topics of gender and performance, body in space, and what you can be versus what society wants you to be. So I think it’s totally contemporary even though it was made almost 50 years ago. The title is also evocative of all its Britishness. You can expect a funny work about two drunken people lost in London.’&nbsp;

Marion Baruch Entrare nel linguaggio, 2019–21 <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1404/Galerie-Urs-Meile">Galerie Urs Meile</a>, Lucerne ‘<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/45836/Marion-Baruch">Marion Baruch</a> is an interesting figure who has been rediscovered over the past couple of years. It’s incredible that she is one of the oldest artists – she’s over 90 years old – and she’s making a new work for Unlimited. She’s an amazing artist. She uses the remnants of industrial luxury clothing production to install these pieces in a space in a festive and interesting way. She’s trying to use these remnants to generate new wall drawings that through repetition become a sort of archaic language. It’s powerful and somehow also full of contradictions.’

Lucy McKenzie Giving Up The Shadows On My Face, 2019–20 <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1512/Cabinet">Cabinet</a>, London ‘In this work,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/10081/Lucy-McKenzie">Lucy McKenzie</a> is dealing with ideas of monumentality and historicism. She created a wall painting based on a Soviet-era mural that she updated with contemporary imagery, which would not be possible in the Soviet context. She’s then playing hide and seek with these subjects, because she built a wall in front of the painting, which only leaves parts of the work visible. This is a work that makes us aware of ideology and communication. We live in a post-ideological era, where truth is constantly hidden or manipulated. Art is also manipulated or used by the real powers to generate different narratives. This is a very important piece.’

Ryoji Ikeda data-verse 3, 2021 <a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/gallery/1254/Almine-Rech">Almine Rech</a>, Paris&nbsp;‘This is an immersive, sensorial experience. To compose these images,&nbsp;Ikeda used sets of data taken from many different sources, whose scope ranged from health issues to ecological issues, so the work confronts you with knowledge in a physical way. Over the past year we’ve been constantly looking at data sets about the pandemic so this piece will be a center of attention. You’re in front of this monumental video projection, which is full of details. It transports you into a micro and macro cosmos at the same time. Ikeda is an amazing musical composer, so the sound element also projects you into the data sets. It’s very rhythmic and the connection between hearing and viewing makes it a synesthetic experience. It’s overwhelming, like you’ve been beamed into The Matrix.’Art Basel in Basel will run from September 24–26, 2021. Discover more about the show&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/basel">here</a>.Payal Uttam is an independent writer and editor who divides her time between Hong Kong and Singapore. She contributes to a range of publications, including Artsy, The Art Newspaper, South China Morning Post, and The Wall Street Journal.Top image:&nbsp;Ryoji Ikeda, data-verse 3, 2021.

title_style_3

His work, contrasting memory and history, will soon be on view at Art Basel

Stories

Artist Lyle Ashton Harris samples images to create a language of his own

Find out more about additional galleries and the artists they're presenting&nbsp;in this year's Unlimited sector

Catalog

Artists and galleries in Unlimited 2021

<div>The artist's monumental War Frieze will be on view for the first time in its entirety at Art Basel</div>

How Mira Schor's visceral art tackles the chaos of our times

The sector dedicated to monumental artworks spotlights both historic and of-the-moment pieces

Welcome,

Discover more related content below: