Sneak Peek: What to Look for at Art Basel

Giulio Paolini, "Mimesi" (1975). (Courtesy the artist and Galleria Massimo Minini, Brescia)

By PAUL LASTER, JUNE 2016 

The 47th edition of Art Basel kicks off this week with 286 international galleries from 33 countries exhibiting at the Messe Basel in Basel, Switzerland. The premier European art show, the 2016 Basel edition runs from Tuesday, June 14 to Sunday, June 19 and is expected to attract nearly 90,000 art lovers from across the globe.

This year’s show offers modern and contemporary paintings, drawings, sculpture, installations, prints, photography, video and digital art by more than 4,000 artists in the Galleries sector; curated projects in the Features sectors; solo projects by emerging artists in Statements; prints and multiples in the Editions sector; massive sculpture and paintings, video projections, large-scale installations and live performances in Unlimited, which is curated by Gianni Jetzer; site-specific sculptures, interventions and performances in the city's neighborhoods in the Parcours sector; and a week-long program of films by and about artists, curated by Maxa Zoller, in the Film sector.

There are also Talks, programmed by Mari Spirito; a Crowdfunding Lab, which features artistic projects financed in partnership with Kickstarter; and a sector for international art publications, including Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art.

Scroll through the images below to get a sneak peek of our picks of exceptional works to see at the fair. WM

Frank Stella, "Damascus Gate (Stretch Variation I)" (1970), at Art Basel: Unlimited.
© 2016 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS),
New York. (Courtesy Dominique Lévy Gallery, Marianne Boesky Gallery and Sprüth Magers Gallery)

Günther Förg, "Sturz I" (1984). (Courtesy Daniel Blau, Munich)
Alice Neel, "Guy's Aunt" (1964). (Courtesy Victoria Miro, London)

Camille Henrot, "Derelitta" (2016). (Courtesy Metro Pictures, New York)

Jim Shaw, "Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams" (2016).
(Courtesy Simon Lee Gallery, London, Hong Kong and New York)
Bernard Frize, "Balaire" (2015). (Courtesy Galerie nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder Vienna)

Richard Prince,"New Figures" (2015). (Courtesy Two Palms, New York)

Keith Haring, "Untitled" (1983). (Courtesy Galerie Hans Mayer, Düsseldorf)

Robert Mangold, "Distorted Circle within a Polygon II" (1972). (Courtesy The Mayor Gallery, London) 

Hans-Peter Feldmann, "Painting, nude lying on her stomach with tan lines, after Boucher"
(n.d.). (Courtesy Galerie Mehdi Chouakri, Berlin)

Robert Smithson, "Four-Sided Vortex" (1965). (Courtesy James Cohan, New York)

Roy Lichtenstein, "Head" (1980). (Courtesy Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago and New York)

Lee Friedlander, "New York City" (1965). (Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco)

Louise Bourgeois, "The Family" (2010).
(Courtesy Carolina Nitsch Contemporary Art, New York)

Jonathan Meese, "MAL (DOCH) RIECHEN, MARSHALL "COLTUS
MAXIMUS SHERIFFUS STAATUS DE LOVEUS" (2016).
(Courtesy David Nolan Gallery, New York)

Matt Saunders, "Leni Peickert" (2015). (Courtesy Niels Borch Jensen Gallery and Editions, Copenhagen and Berlin)

Karl Wirsum, "Untitled (Study for Got a Spare Gus?)" (1965).
(Courtesy Derek Eller Gallery, New York)

Pia Camil, "Sleeve Roe Interior" (2016). (Courtesy Galería OMR, Mexico City)

Neo Rauch, "Märzarbeit" (2015).
(Courtesy Galerie EIGEN + ART, Leipzig and Berlin)

Salvatore Scarpitta, "Sal Ardun Special" (1964-1983). (Courtesy Tornabuoni Art, Paris)

Julian Opie, "Woman with white T-shirt" (2015).
(Courtesy Gerhardsen Gerner, Oslo and Berlin)

Mark Manders, "Room with Unfired Clay Figures" (2011). (Courtesy Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp)

Huma Bhabha, "Untitled" (2014).
(Courtesy Stephen Friedman Gallery. London)

John Baldessari, "SCISSORS" (2015). (Courtesy Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich)

Jose Dávila, "Untitled (Girl at Piano)" (2016).
(Courtesy Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenheagen)

Jean-Michel Basquiat, "HOAX" (1983). (Courtesy Cheim & Read, New York)

William Kentridge, "Untitled (Against Dogmatism)" (2016).
(Courtesy Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg and Cape Town)

Wolfgang Tillmans, "Tag/Nacht III" (2015). (Courtesy Maureen Paley, London)

Nigel Cooke, "Salome (Seasons)" (2016).
(Courtesy Pace Gallery, New York, London and Beijing)