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ART BASEL HIGHLIGHTS 3/3

25 June 2014

From downstairs at Art Basel, I then staggered my way upstairs for some light reprieve.

ART BASEL HIGHLIGHTS 3/3
Gavin Brown seemed to have it all. From an amazing new version of ‘Head’ by Alex Israel
ART BASEL HIGHLIGHTS 3/3
to an incredible Mark Leckey sculpture which united the French and British in front of a Rob Pruitt painting. The Leckey torso is based on a 3D scan of a Louise Bourgeois and the head, on Dr. Who and the Cybermen. Cybermen gave me many nightmares in my childhood!
ART BASEL HIGHLIGHTS 3/3
The detailing in the work of Mark Bradford on the Hauser & Wirth stand was both striking and captivating.
ART BASEL HIGHLIGHTS 3/3
After an exhausting few hours, we stumbled over to the 14 Rooms curated by Hans-Ulrich Obrist and Klaus Biesenbach, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and presented by Foundation Beyeler. The project was spectacular but almost a total flop. Time in Basel is the biggest enemy and to really appreciate, enjoy and absorb this work you need a lot of time. However, I did have fun jumping in and out of the rooms and managed to sneak in a few photos. The Laura Lima ‘Man=flesh/ Woman=flesh-FLAT' had an unusual access leaving me rather curious to check it out.
ART BASEL HIGHLIGHTS 3/3
The Bruce Nauman re-enactments of ‘Wall Floor Positions’ were one of my favourites.
ART BASEL HIGHLIGHTS 3/3
But my number one was Ed Atkins’ avatar ‘NO-ONE IS MORE “WORK” THAN ME.’
ART BASEL HIGHLIGHTS 3/3
Behind another door stood ‘Diaspore,’ a figure with a flower pot on her head by the artist Otobong Nkanga.
ART BASEL HIGHLIGHTS 3/3
Now I am already back in London after a hurricane visit through Basel. At home in Zabludowicz Collection I get to marvel at the wonderful work of the hard-working and productive artist; Samara Scott.As Sam Falls contends with the buzz of Basel, I get to breathe in the essence of peace just before our opening on 26th June.