Art Basel 2017: our favourite artists

In recent years contemporary art shows are enjoying unprecedented success and new ones are cropping up all over the world. But one stands out from the rest: Art Basel. The leading contemporary art show, Art Basel, is back from 15th and 18th June 2017. Check out our six featured artists and dive head first into the year’s biggest arts event!

GORDON PARKS

Children with Doll, Washington, D.C., 1942, ©Gordon Parks

Jenkins Johnson gallery

Things are never quite what they seem… Gordon Parks has never been more relevant. An exhibit at Jenkins Johnsons, a new Art Basel gallery, displays pictures questioning America today by a photographer who witnessed struggles and discrimination in the 60s.

CÉCILE B. EVANS

Lead Image: Amos’ World: Episode One, 2017, ©Cecile B. Evans
Galerie Emanuel Layr

Statements groups together emerging artists. The Emanuel Layr Gallery propels us into the future with a video by young artist Cecile B. Evans. This artist is competing for the prestigious Baloise Art Prize. The images are a form of meditation on man’s relationship with the world, and in particular technology, internet and robots.

MAC ADAMS

The Bathroom, 1978, ©Mac Adams
gb agency

In 1978, American artist Mac Adams went beyond art and created history. Gb Agency are making this piece public at this year’s Art Basel. Here narrative turns into questioning: what happened in this bathroom? There are hints and clues and, in this sordid production, it will be up to the spectator to have the final say.

JULIO LE PARC

La longue marche, 1974, ©Julio Le Parc

Galerie Perrotin

Excess is the one constant at Art Basel. It reaches its peak in the Unlimited section, an area reserved for XXL paintings. There will be 76 on display at this 48th show. Julio Le Parc’s major work, La Longue Marche, stands out among the installations and sculptures. These 10 panels, a metaphor for life, are the perfect example of cinematic art.

OSCAR ENBERG

Red Beryl and crocodile, Opal (Irrational Exuberance in the White Man’s Hole), 2016 ©Oscar Enberg
Hopkinson Mossman

Like every year, the show has a fresh feel New Zealand art gallery, Hopkinson Mossman, is taking part in the show for the first time and is backing young local artists. This boldness is on show in young New Zealander Oscar Enberg’s video, which attacks the way man has exploited the earth. It features an Australian opal mine.

ROBERTO CUOGHI

SS(XXXVIP)c, 2016, ©Robero Cuoghi
Lehmann Maupin

He may be the most discreet artist at the 2017 Art Show. Roberto Cuoghi is rarely seen in public and even avoided the opening night of a MoMA retrospective. One thing is certain. His works will be on display at the Lehman Maupin gallery and they are not to be missed. Roberto Cuoghi is a unique artist who teaches himself from scratch every time he embarks on working with a new technique. He once spent months perfecting his skills in ceramics so that he could create his Crabs series.