This year the Basel's platform for cutting-edge art and emerging international talent culminates in a showcase of mainly solo and two-or-three artist dialogues spanning 81 exhibitors, with 68 returning from previous years.
Basel (April 23, 2012). VOLTA, Basel's platform for cutting-edge art and emerging international
talent, mounts its eighth year this June with the wind at its back. Buzz for the fifth iteration of VOLTA
NY, the stateside invitational solo-artist fair, coupled with positive reactions from VOLTA7 last year,
culminates in a creatively curated showcase of mainly solo and two-or-three artist dialogues spanning
81 exhibitors, with 68 returning from previous years.
The VOLTA8 Curatorial Board – Am anda Coulson (Artistic Director of VOLTA and Director of The
National Art Gallery of The Bahamas); Christoph Doswald (Chairman of the Working Committee for
art in public places in Zurich); Ulrich Voges (Art historian and economist and co-founder of
VOLTA); and David Risley (Director of David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, and founder of Zoo Art
Fair, London) – assembled 81 tightly-edited, inspired positions, including 64 galleries from Europe and
12 from the Americas, plus exhibitors from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia.
Solo artist presentations continue to be one of VOLTA's assets, considering the overwhelming
satisfaction for last year's more easily navigable fair. Select highlights at VOLTA8 include:
Alexandra M akhlouf (showing with Fred [London] Ltd), the talented young printmaker and 2010
artist-in-residence at David Krut Print Workshop (DKW) in Johannesburg, South Africa; Adam
Jeppesen (represented by Peter Lav Gallery, Copenhagen), whose large-format photography
was assembled in the 2008 Steidl monograph Wake; painter Nick Fox (with Vane, Newcastle upon
Tyne), featured in the recent Anschlüssel: London/Berlin drawing survey at London's C4RD and
whose works were paired with Dada vanguard Francis Picabia at the Museum of Contemporary Art,
London; and Düsseldorf-based painter M ax Frintrop (CHAPLINI, Cologne), whose solo exhibition
Gelsenkirchener Gangart concluded this spring at young contemporary art-space Baustelle
Schaustelle, Essen.
Many galleries engage in two-or-three artist dialogues, including: Martin Asbæ k Gallery
(Copenhagen), pairing collagist-painter Sofie Bird M øller (2012 residency at CCA Andratx,
Mallorca, Spain) with photographer Nicolai Howalt; TEAPOT (Cologne) contrasts Thomas
Palm e's large works on paper with Christian Eisenberger's sculpture; Paolo M aria Deanesi
Gallery (Rovereto) follows photographer Arm ano Lulaj (participant in the 2007 Venice Biennale and
2010 Berlin Biennial) with video/performance artist Dacia M anto, winner of the Premio Aletti,
ArtVerona 2011; and espaivisor – Visor Gallery's (Valencia) eclectic program of Columbian artist
Alberto Baraya (in the 53rd Venice Biennale), Croatian cross-media pioneer Sanja Iveković (her
first-ever U.S. career survey recently concluded at Museum of Modern Art, New York), and British
conceptual “walking artist” and photographer Hamish Fulton.
VOLTA8 also features exhibitors new to its Basel and New York fairs, such as: Brundyn + Gonsalves
(Cape Town), whose artist M atthew Hindley is participating in the Global Groove exhibition at Eli
and Edythe Broad Museum, Michigan; Dubai's Lawrie Shabibi, presenting a discourse between
Marwan Sahm arani (2010 Abraaj Capital Art Prize winner and participant in Art Dubai) and
Shapour Pouyan (recipient of Tehran Contemporary Museum of Art's residency grant at Cité
Internationale des Arts, Paris); Galleria Heino (Helsinki), debuting artistic duo IC-98's (Visa
Suonpää and Patrik Söderlund) project Oikoumene; and Berlin's ph-projects, showcasing mixed-
media artist Ulla von Brandenburg, who just participated in the Prague Quadrennial, Belgrade,
and Eorem Sanai (Ice Man) at Arario Gallery Cheonan, South Korea.
This June, VOLTA8 occurs just after the commencement of dOCUMENTA 13, which will drive
throngs to Switzerland. Coupled with unique special programming and signature limited edition,
VOLTA8 will be a destination for creative contemporary art and thoughtful dialogue.
VOLTA8 at Dreispitzhalle is only 7 minutes from the central train station SBB by public transport, 9
minutes via the Tram 10 or 11 from Bankverein (Kunsthalle/Kunstmuseum), or 5 minutes by car.
Reaching the fair is effortless, with direct, complimentary VOLTA8 shuttles running from Art Basel
and LISTE. With a 450-place car park one block away, parking is trouble-free. All travel information
can be found by visiting our website.
VOLTA was founded in Basel in 2005 by dealers Kavi Gupta (Chicago), Ulrich Voges (Frankfurt), and
Friedrich Loock (Berlin).
A full list of exhibitors can be reviewed below or on our website at www.voltashow.com.
Photos courtesy of David Willems.
For further Inform ation please contact:
Brian Fee
press@voltashow.com
PREVIEW S: Monday, June 11th
Press Conference: 9:30 a.m
Guest of Honor: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
VIP/Professional: 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
General Public: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Dreispitzhalle
Helsinkistrasse 5 - 4053 Basel / Muenchenstein
daily hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Ticket:
Adult CHF 17/ € 12
Concessions/student CHF 14/ € 10