JUNE 1
TUESDAY 3 JUNE
BASEL (SWITZERLAND), ART BASEL

It seems as if each version of Art Basel draws more people and becomes more complicated. On the first morning we study our map and plans and greet our friends. Entrance to the pavilions for collectors and VIPs is at 11 o’clock: early access to the stands and galleries means being able to buy before the rest.

Marketing and hierarchical strategies are in full swing.

At 11:30 the venue is already swarming.

I tag along with Selva who’s got a project on in the area of galleries specializing in photography.

Just 9 people so far.

At the Corkin gallery of Toronto you can see the latest works by the British concept artist Iain Baxter.

He lives in Canada and creates fascinating interactions and startling contrasts between aspects of nature and humanity.

From Silverstein (NY), we notice Maria Antonietta Mameli’s isolated figures . . .

We spend some time in the Collector’s Lounge – snail-like service – with Cay Sophie Rabinowitz, the event’s art director and lunch with the artist Lawrence Weiner and Marc Gloede, responsible for the art film programme.

Next it’s off to the market-exhibition of art magazines and culture staged by Lionel Bovier from the JRP/Ringier publishing house.

I learn the person I’m supposed to be meeting and interviewing tomorrow, won’t be able to make it. We were to have spoken about and fashion in independent magazines for Art Lobby. She’s got a problem with her little daughter and can’t leave Berlin.

So…. Well it’s 9 now and we’ve been on the go for ten hours.

Time for a couple of beers in the square to view the crowd with Alessandro Zenti of UBS, then back to the hotel, then out again…

At 11 there’s “Water in Milk Exists”, Lawrence Weiner’s 23-minute skin flick.

Massimo Torrigiani edits both the monthly Rodeo and the contemporary art projects magazine Boiler. He is a friend of Ennio Capasa’s and has collaborated with him for over 15 years.