The most perfect summer week
I can’t complain about my life and every morning I look forward to the day ahead. But there are weeks that are a little more special than others and days that I look forward to especially. Last week was once again such a moment with ArtBasel taking place in the city.
In Basel, art is already only a stone’s throw away on normal days. During ArtBasel, however, one is literally overwhelmed by it and it seems that one literally swims in art. After years of pandemic restrictions, this year’s show was finally like the years before Covid and felt perfect all around. And as it always seems to be, the weather was summer sunny throughout the week and the city was showing off its best side.
Art in the privat garden of the Haus zum Raben right behind Kunstmuseum Basel
Art is all around
Thanks to Parcours, I was able to enjoy the first artworks already on Monday morning during my jogging round, when the squares are still empty and quiet and the shadows of the rising sun are long. Another fact I really like about Parcours is that art is placed in locations that are usually not open for public. And I never thought, a beautiful oasis of calm and green is hidden right behind the Kunstmuseum.
90s mood at Basel Social Club
My very special highlight at this ArtBasel was the evening at the Basel Social Club, which took place in the silos and empty halls of the Thomy mayonnaise factory. The atmosphere reminded me so much of Basel in the 90s, the wild Basel of my late youth, when everything was bursting of creativity and everything was about love…here one day, there the next. The ease of being, back for an evening… Refik Anatol’s installation at Theater Basel was also very beautiful and impressive.
Refik Anadol’s projection on the Theater Basel
Studio update
In the studio I continued to work on my still life series and finished another painting. The series reflects on the things that surround us/me in our/my home(s) and the stories they tell. More on that in another blog post I haven’t written yet. In this week’s painting, I arranged Barbra my trans gnome along with my fish bowl and a vase of rose hips. The red of the rose hips matches perfectly with the red of Barbra’s pointed hat, the vase reminds me of the floor of the basement of an Upper Westside restaurant where we once filled our bellies with Southern food. The bowl with the fishes has the same color as the orange of the mountain mats in October, when we take our last hikes there. Memories of fall and winter days that make me a little nostalgic and Barbra’s red lips telling of past love affairs.
Still Life VI | 42cm x 42cm • 16.5″ x 16.5″
Perfect all around
Besides all the art, the week was of course full of other activities. The usual everyday activities and little problems. But with the sun in the sky and this cheerful positive energy in the city, this week was really a highlight of the current year and will remain in the best memory.
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