One of world’s most prestigious international art fairs, Art Basel began in 1970 with its inception and base being in Switzerland.

Recently, Rogers had the opportunity to attend the 2017 Art Basel event in Basel, Switzerland. Works by Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor and Ai Weiwei were some of the highlights of the event. All three artists are renowned for their sculptural works and art being represented at Art Basel numerous times.

Damien Hirst exhibited ‘Cupid’s Lie’ at this year’s event, initially created in 2008. Sitting at just under 40 centimetres, ‘Cupid’s Lie’ is a fragile, skeletal sculpture, which was positioned atop of a black surface. Hirst created the detailed frame and feathered wings in gold.

Exhibiting two tree-inspired sculptures at this year’s Art Basel, Ai Weiwei continued with his highly complex work surrounding these sculptural forms. One of the sculptures, ‘Iron Root’, sits at 1.8 metres tall, and is created out of cast iron, mirroring the detailed form of a tree’s trunk.

Anish Kapoor exhibited a range of works at the event but what drew particular attention was one of his experiments with spatial voids. The stone piece uses alabaster to create the look of a seemingly freestanding centre encased by the heaviness of the stone.

Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor and Ai Weiwei have long-standing associations with Art Basel.  The experience of being able to attend the 2017 Art Basel event and view the contemporary work in person was a great pleasure for Andrew Rogers.

From Left: works exhibited by Ai Weiwei, Damien Hirst and Anish Kapoor