Sculpture on the rise at Unlimited, many Italian artists
Monumental works for museums and foundations the focus of the exhibition
3' min read
3' min read
Monday opens the week of Art Basel, for over 50 years one of the most important appointments for the European and American art market. The first, eagerly awaited event of the kermesse is the inauguration of Unlimited, a section reserved for works of monumental dimensions, designed for the purchases of museums and foundations, rather than the average collector, already starting with the prices, which range from at least 50,000 euros to millionaires. For everyone it is the most spectacular part, but also the one that requires the most effort from the galleries, 92 this year with 67 works. "Again this year the gallerists have proposed very ambitious projects," reported Giovanni Carmine, the Italo-Swiss curator responsible for the section, as well as director of Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen. "For galleries it is a unique showcase, but the times make it even more thoughtful to consider what to bring. For example, there are few video works this year, a medium that presents greater difficulties in achieving a good return on investment, although there is no shortage of beautiful work by Walid Raad'.
This does not mean that we will only find painting, quite the contrary. "Compared to previous years, I have noticed a great return to sculpture," says Giovanni Carmine. "I don't know why in terms of the market, but on a curatorial level it was a nice challenge to install many works without the box around them, generating an adequate space for the works and for the public".
And even the painting at Unlimited is installation-based. The youngest artist, the Swiss painter Andriu Deplazes, born in 1993, worked for the first time on five panels and a length of eight metres, dealing with current topics such as war, refugees, climate (presented by Peter Kilchmann at CHF 200,000).
The themes of the present form the backdrop for many of the works. "There is a kind of humanism as a common thread," commented Carmine. "Many works deal with existential and identity issues, the search for a utopia and the confrontation with today's socio-political issues."
Think of this year's largest work: a series of 80 sculptures by Atelier Van Lieshout, which accompany the visitor from the entrance to the exit and represent humanity's continuous journey towards a better, albeit improbable, future. Pistoletto, no stranger to Unlimited, also refers to his utopias of coexistence, while Marinella Senatore, who is here for the first time with a 34-metre luminaria, creates a space for empowerment (presented by Mazzoleni at EUR 550,000).
