Summer, Switzerland, Basel… Such a huge concentration of artists, art collectors, critics, and gallery owners per square meter can be found only at Art Basel! The famous exhibition has just celebrated its 46th anniversary. No wonder that it is called a “Mother” of the world’s fine art fairs! This year, the size of the exhibition was impressive: it featured approximately 300 international galleries from five continents and reportedly $3.4 billion worth of art! So what were the most interesting projects and news?
First of all, we want to highlight a bonkers-expensive yet gorgeous masterpiece painted by Mark Rothko in 1955, Untitled (Yellow, Orange, Yellow, Light Orange), which was sold for $50 million, making it the most expensive fine art work of Art Basel 2015. The most unforgettable art installation, Untitled, Rock (2012), was presented by the Indian artist Shilpa Gupta. It was made from thousands of microphones with multi-channel audio placed in a darkened room, simultaneously conveying a multitude of singing and whispering voices. The work by Ai Weiwei, the most famous and controversial artists of China, was also in the spotlight. His Stacked (2012), featuring 760 connected bikes, transformed the Unlimited gallery into the whole bike parking. And how not to pay attention to Jeff Koons large sculptures? The playful and poignant Cat on a Clothesline, Orange (1994-2001) made of polyethylene represented 1 of 5 its unique versions. In addition to all this, Art Basel was proud to display the works of such prominent architects as Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, and Renzo Piano.