There is nothing provincial about the pocket-sized city of Basel, Switzerland. Daily trains link it to Paris, Geneva and Zurich, the last just an hour away; buildings designed by hometown heroes Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron energize the well-ordered streetscape. And Art Basel (June 4 through 8), the world's best modern- and contemporary-art fair, has turned the city into a cultural juggernaut. Now in its thirty-ninth year, and playing host to about 300 dealers, Art Basel has grown to encompass installation, film and video, lecture, theater and design components. And in a novel twist, starting this June the fair itself will be commissioning work—specifically, a series of projects to be installed and unveiled daily by a diverse group of artists that will include Monica Bonvicini, Pedro Reyes and Malcolm McLaren.
Under the new leadership of American Cay Sophie Rabinowitz, with assistance from directors Annette Schönholzer and Marc Spiegler, Art Basel looks destined to continue the innovative approach to the art-fair concept set in motion by departing director Sam Keller during his seven-year tenure. Education, entertainment and intellectual exchange are positioned right alongside the sale of art as goals for the event, at least in the eyes of the promoters. On the flip side, partying, networking and shopping the Basel boutiques seem to be positioned alongside buying art in the eyes of many who attend.
Given the punishing exchange rate for Americans traveling abroad right now, children's toys and Comme des Garçons dresses might be easier to bring home than a Bacon. Even last year, experienced collectors from Dallas and New York were put off by the vertiginous prices being quoted at stands in the convention center, which was nonetheless buzzing from the minute it opened. Whether or not you're in the market for art, you can still look, of course. Beyond the warren of stands showing residentially scaled pieces is a hall where the exhibition "Art Unlimited" will feature supersized works by Carl Andre, Karen Kilimnik and at least sixty others this year.
It's almost too much to absorb, especially if you're dining Rhine-side with the dealers at Chez Donati and drinking with the artists in the garden of Kunsthalle Basel. So do as the experts advise, and put together a game plan. First, target the stands you know, where you may have arranged to see a particular artist's recent work or a piece you're interested in buying. Then, make time to meet with a few new galleries, take in exhibitions like "Art Unlimited," and check out the great on-site bookstore. Finally, head to the top-notch Schaulager, an exhibition space and art-study center designed by Herzog & de Meuron, and visit the sublime Fondation Beyeler, twenty-five minutes from the center of town, whose permanent collection, leafy sculpture garden and Renzo Piano building will inspire you to put Basel on your calendar again next year. artbasel.com.
OTHER SUMMER MUST-SEES
Finnish design steals the spotlight outside Paris in Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, where the Maison Louis Carré, a 1959 masterwork by architect Alvar Aalto, recently opened for guided public visits. maisonlouiscarre.fr.
In Prague, the newly installed Princely Collections of the Lobkowicz Palace present major works by such artists as Velázquez, Canaletto and Brueghel alongside a trove of jewels, musical scores and rare books, all of which are closely entwined with Czech heritage. www.lobkowiczevents.cz.
The 16th-century Florentine Palazzo Strozzi has added an eleven-room contemporary-art center after transforming the domed ceilings and stone floors of former cellars beneath its courtyard into a spectacular new gallery space. palazzostrozzi.org.
After eight years of renovation, the enormous and long-derelict Baroque palace and majestic grounds of Italy's Venaria Reale, in Piedmont, debut this summer in their restored splendor—highlighted by the gardens' opening on the 10th. lavenaria.it.
As the first institution of its kind in Italy, Milan's Triennale Design Museum spends its inaugural year addressing the question "What is Italian design?" with several shows that explore the city's emergence as a major design-world hub. triennale.it.
The Arken Museum of Modern Art, near Copenhagen, has installed its complete permanent collection for the first time; also on view will be a room brimming with ten iconoclastic works by Damien Hirst, on loan from top Danish collector Jytte Dresing. arken.dk. --LINDSAY CROUSE
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