EVERYBODY AT ART BASEL 2006
The global art world’s moveable feast shifts to Switzerland for the third week of June, as Art 37 Basel throws open its doors, June 14-18, 2006, accompanied by two satellite fairs of new art, Liste 06 and Voltashow 02, as well as the new Balelatina Contemporary Art Fair and the first Design Miami Basel. Herewith, a quick rundown of the important details.

Art 37 Basel
June 14-18, 2006
Featuring approximately 290 galleries from 30 countries, Art Basel includes special sections devoted to multiples and editions, young galleries ("Art Premiere"), special solo installations by artists ("Art Statements"), large-scale and unusual art projects ("Art Unlimited") and more. Major galleries in the fair range from Acquavella (New York), Air de Paris (Paris) and Aizpuru (Madrid) to Zeno X (Antwerp), Ziegler (Zurich) and Zwirner & Wirth (New York).

Participants in the "Art Premiere" section are Bastide (Brussels), China Art Objects (Los Angeles), GB Agency (Paris), Herald St. (London), Johann König (Berlin), Maccarone (New York), Nature Morte (New Delhi), Pia (Bern), Podnar (Ljubljana), Reena Spaulings (New York), Winkelmann (Berlin) and Zero (Milan).

Artists with solo shows in "Art Statements" are Pierre Ardouvin, Shannon Bool, Matthew Brannon, Steven Claydon, Keren Cytter, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Susanna Fritscher, Vidya Gastaldon, Barnaby Hosking, Talia Keinan, Terence Koh, Isa Melsheimer, Simon Dybbroe Møller, Jesùs Bubu Negrón, Peter Piller, Michael S. Riedel, Mathilde Rosier, Lucy Skaer, Mungo Thomson, Clemens von Wedemeyer, Martin Westwood and Ralf Ziervogel.

Liste 06
June 13-18, 2006
"The Young Art Fair in Basel," as Liste calls itself, begins its second decade (the fair is 11 years old this year) by expanding, adding a new tent-like annex designed by the Zurich firm Undend and housing ten new galleries. The fair makes a point of limiting participants to galleries that have been in business for only five years or less, and now features a total of 59 galleries from 24 countries, with 22 of them new to the event. 

New York dealers making the trip to Liste include Cohan and Leslie, Zach Feuer, Foxy Production, Daniel Reich and Taxter & Spengemann, while participants from L.A. are Anna Helwing and Daniel Hug. Other young galleries at the fair include Vitamin Creative Space (Guangzhou, China), Kirkhoff (Copenhagen), Cortex Athletico (Bordeaux), Hollybush Gardens (London), Mother’s Tankstation (Glasgow) and Monitor (Rome).

Voltashow 02
June 14-18, 2006
The second installment of the new art fair, founded last year by Friedrich Loock (Wohnmaschine, Berlin), Ulrich Voges (Voges + Partner, Frankfurt) and Kavi Gupta (Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago), sets up this year in a new location further down the Rhine, featuring almost double the number of galleries, a project section of solo shows and a riverside café.

The 48 exhibitors range from Art Agents (Hamburg), Artcore/Fabrice Marcolini (Toronto), Spencer Brownstone (New York) and Canada (New York) to Cokkie Snoei (Rotterdam), Store (London), Taché-Lévy (Brussels) and Torch (Amsterdam). Artists being given solo presentations include Hadassah Emmerich, Simone Aaberg Kaern, Zhou Xiaohu, Rupert Norfolk, John Isaacs, Rina Banerjee, Stephan Melzl and Eddie Martinez.

Balelatina 2006
June 15-18, 2006
Focusing on Latin art, the new Balelatina Contemporary Art Fair takes place at Brasilea Kulturhaus on the Rhine in Basel, with 21 participating galleries, a special "videobox" program and exterior installations by several artists. Dealers signed up for the fair include Casas Riegner (Bogota), Daniel Abate (Buenos Aires), Diana Lowenstein (Miami), Espacio Distrito Cuatro (Madrid), Latincollector (New York), Nina Menocal (Mexico City) and Sicardi (Houston). The fair is sponsored by ArtNexus; the executive director is Mariangela Capuzzo.

Design Miami Basel
June 12-16, 2006
Directed by Ambra Medda, this new fair -- it debuted in Miami last December -- brings 17 galleries specializing in contemporary design and the decorative arts to the Foyer Theater Basel and the neighboring Elisabethenkirche, both on Elisabethenstrasse. Among the participants are Barry Friedman Ltd. (New York), Nilufar (Milan), Galerie Patrick Seguin (Paris), Contrasts Gallery (Shanghai), Dansk Mobelkunst (Copenhagen/Paris), Designer’s Gallery Gabrielle Ammann (Cologne) and Philippe Denys (Brussels). The fair also plans to inaugurate a "designer of the future" award, to be announced at a reception at Les Trois Rois Hotel in Basel.

And more. . .
Several notable exhibitions are on view at local museums during the run of the fair. At the Fondation Beyeler is "Henri Matisse: Figure Color Space," while the Kunstmuseum Basel features "Hans Holbein the Younger: The Years in Basel, 1515-1532." The Schaulager has exhibitions of Tacita Dean and Francis Alÿs, while "Edgard Varèse (1883 – 1965)" is at the Museum Jean Tinguely and "Lee Lozano" is at the Kunstmuseum Basel.

contact wrobinson @ artnet.com