Art Basel is just a few weeks away, and you can already feel the excitement in the air. Get your best shoes ready and your expectations high with a warm-up in an arty town very close to the Mecca of art: Zurich. Located less than two hours from Basel, Zurich is offering the exhibitions you need to get prepared before the big event begins. Opening today, Galerie Clemens Gunzer is showcasing new artworks by Clemens Wolf as a follow up to his show in October 2014. Or, stop by SCHEUBLEIN + BAK, which is presenting vintage prints from the 1960s by Swiss and German pioneers of Generative and Concrete Photography, such as Carl Struwe, Heinrich Heidersberger, and Pierre Cordier.
If you want to experience the city’s not-to-be-missed institutions, head to the Kunsthaus Zurich, which focuses on Europe in the exhibition “Europe: the future of history.” Featuring more than 100 artworks by over 60 modern and contemporary artists, including Joseph Beuys, Alberto Giacometti, Andreas Gursky, and Kader Attia, the show explores Europe as peace project. Another staple of Zurich, Haus Konstruktiv, located in a former power station, highlights the work of William Kentridge with his first comprehensive solo exhibition held in Switzerland, alongside some little-known drawings, prints, paintings, sculptures, and tapestries.
Then, enter the world of Ugo Rondinone, and discover nine freestanding walls at Galerie Eva Presenhuber. His exhibition, entitled “Walls + Windows + Doors,” examines the place of people in the world, with the walls representing stability, an outer layer of skin. For those of you who still have energy left after Art Basel, visit Christophe Guye Galerie and the conceptual photographs of Stephen Gill, whose unusual techniques cause confusion about the scale of the images.
One thing is certain: Zurich is an essential stop before and after Art Basel!
Exhibition: “Clemens Wolf: Greyscale”
When: June 4–22, 2015 (Opening Reception: June 4 at 6:30 p.m.)
Where: Galerie Clemens Gunzer, Hottingerstraße 44, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Astrid Klein: Collage, Spiegel, weiße Bilder”
When: June 4–July 17, 2015 (Opening Reception: June 4 at 6:00 p.m.)
Where: Galerie Haas AG Zürich, Talstraße 62a, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “William Kentridge – The Nose”
When: June 4–September 6, 2015
Where: Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Selnaustraße 25, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Raúl Cordero ‘Transient Poetry’”
When: May 2–June 6, 2015
Where: Mai 36 Galerie, Rämistraße 37, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Brière – L’origine de nos mondes”
When: May 9–June 6, 2015
Where: Plutschow Gallery, Waldmannstraße 6, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Christoph Eisenring: Flankierende Massnahmen”
When: June 6–July 18, 2015 (Opening Reception: June 6 at 3:00 p.m.)
Where: Galerie Wenger, Mühlebachstrasse 12, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “AGAINST PHOTOGRAPHY”
When: June 10–August 28, 2015 (Opening Reception: June 9 at 6:00 p.m.)
Where: SCHEUBLEIN + BAK, Schloss Sihlberg, Sihlberg 10, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Ivan Seal | Showroom”
When: June 12–July 18, 2015 (Opening Reception: June 13 at 5:00 p.m.)
Where: RaebervonStenglin, Pfingstweidstraße 23, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Europe: the future of history”
When: June 12–September 6, 2015
Where: Kunsthaus Zürich, Heimplatz 1, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Ugo Rondinone: Walls + Windows + Doors”
When: June 13–July 18, 2015 (Opening Reception: June 13 at 5:00 p.m.)
Where: Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zahnradstraße 21, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Luzia Simons: Getting Lost Outside”
When: June 14–July 4, 2015 (Opening Reception: June 13 at 4:00 p.m.)
Where: Fabian und Claude Walter Galerie, Rämistraße 18, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Paul McCarthy | Spin Offs: White Snow WS, Caribbean Pirates CP” and “Transparence: Calder / Picabia”
When: June 14–July 25, 2015 (Opening Receptions: June 13 at 6:00 p.m.)
Where: Hauser & Wirth, Limmatstraße 270, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Stephen Gill: Buried flowers coexist with disappointed ants”
When: May 7–June 27, 2015
Where: Christophe Guye Galerie, Dufourstraße 31, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Lucia Coray: Neue Werke und ein kleiner Rückblick”
When: May 28–June 27, 2015
Where: Art Forum Ute Barth, Kartausstraße 8, Zurich, Switzerland
Exhibition: “Follow the Leader / Seguid Vuestro Jefe”
When: March 20–June 28, 2015
Where: Johann Jacobs Museum, Seefeldquai 17, Zurich, Switzerland