Volta 2019

VOLTA, Basel’s art fair for new international positions, celebrates its 15th year at the city on the Rhine, from June 10 through 15, concurrent with Art Basel Week. VOLTA returns to Elsässerstrasse 215, the former COOP distribution center and the center-point of Basel’s burgeoning culturalmhub, Lysbüchel, and assembles 79 galleries across four continents and 25 nations to showcase compelling artist
projects. Among the highlights are two galleries from Switzerland:  Le Salon Vert (Carouges) and  Galerie Wenger (Zurich). Both galleries are in their second consecutive year showing at VOLTA Basel. Galerie Wenger spotlights Katy Ann Gilmore in a solo presentation, in which the American artist transforms the booth’s flat surfaces into a three-dimensional illusion. This dramatic installation references Gilmore’s interest in topography and echoes her prowess at large-scale projects, including at Facebook’s Los Angeles headquarters and in south downtown Seattle.

Meanwhile,  Le Salon Vert composes a “silent conversation” on the innate power and vulnerability of nature via two artists:  Stéphane Erouane Dumas (French) and  Susanna Bauer (German). Dumas’ large-format and visually dense paintings of frozen Nordic wilderness are balanced by Bauer’s finely detailed needlework on dried magnolia leaves, emblematic of the passage of time. “It feels slightly surreal, and yet undeniably exciting, to light a candle on our 15th year in Basel,” notes  Amanda Coulson, VOLTA Artistic Director. “The art world landscape, and indeed the broader political and cultural landscapes, have shifted so much since our founding in 2005. And yet, our core foundation of advocating for ‘mother galleries’ — for the emerging and the ambitious who may break into the blue chip fairs one day or who are being overlooked despite their progress ‘at home’ — remains as true and as serious as ever. The quality and consistency of our exhibitors and their compelling projects reflects this mandate. VOLTA visitors are in for a real treat this year.” Over half of the participating galleries have elected to showcase solo or dual-artist projects, a popular mode of presentation at VOLTA fairs, with fully 21 solo projects this year. 

VOLTA connects with Art Basel via the Dreirosen-Bridge: 4 minutes by automobile, 9 minutes by bicycle, and 15 minutes by direct tram (Line 1 to Voltaplatz). The hall is likewise connected by direct tram (Line 11 to St. Louis- Grenze) from Basel’s main train station, SBB, as well as from the Schaulager. VOLTA was co-founded in 2005 by three dealers, Kavi Gupta (Chicago), Friedrich Loock (Berlin), and Ulrich Voges (Frankfurt am Main), and art critic Amanda Coulson.