Art Basel has revealed further details about site specific sculptures by Nairy Baghramian and Ibrahim Mahama that will appear at the flagship fair in Switzerland this June. The artists are part of Art Basel’s inaugural class of Gold Awardees, and Art Basel announced the commissions this past February.
On the Messeplatz, Iranian-born, German sculptor Nairy Baghramian will present Modèle vivant (S’empilant) (2026), an elaborate installation conceived for the square’s fountain. The work is composed of four lavender, large-scale biomorphic forms that perch on geometric steel supports built around the fountain’s waterfalls. A bench-like pedestal to the side is covered in tiles and surrounded by photographic imprints of flies.
Elsewhere on the Münsterplatz, Ghanaian installation artist Ibrahim Mahama will unveil an installation entitled The God of Small Things (2026). The piece is composed of multiple sculptural elements that are suspended to create a large-scale immersive environment. It takes its title from the Arundhati Roy novel of the same name, and uses rubber castoffs from a factory that was established in Ghana following the country’s independence.
The fair also announced details about its various sectors. Unlimited, Art Basel’s platform for large-scale projects, will be curated for the first time by Ruba Katrib, MoMA PS1 chief curator and director of curatorial affairs. It will bring together 59 projects by 66 galleries, showcasing artists whose practices urgently engage with the current political, social, and ecological climate. Highlights include Isa Genzken’s Untitled (2018), presented by Galerie Buchholz, Hauser & Wirth, and David Zwirner; Tracey Emin’s Knowing my Enemy (2002), presented by White Cube; and Oskar Schlemmer’s Homo, Composition in Metal (1930–31), presented by Leandro Navarro and Thaddaeus Ropac.
In Parcours, curated by Stefanie Hessler, 22 projects presented by 31 galleries will take place in public spaces and historic locations around Basel, including outdoor venues, empty apartments, and shops. “Public space—from the commons to architectures of civic life—is central to conversations around how we live together,” said Hessler in a press statement. “This year’s presentation explores the promise and complexity of ‘conviviality’ through artistic interventions that extend into the fabric of the city of Basel. Bringing together a majority of new and recent works with key historic positions, the sector addresses ecology and labor, artistic community and intergenerational transmission, mythologies and systems of valuation underpinning economic and political formations through a multifaceted urban choreography.” Highlights include new posters by Sarah Crowner distributed across the tram and presented by Galerie Max Hetzler and Galerie Nordenhake in collaboration with Luhring Augustine, and Haegue Yang’s installations from her ongoing Intermediates series, which will be draped across the Mittlere Brücke as well as equipment from an artisanal distillery, and presented by Kukje Gallery and neugerriemschnieder.
Meanwhile, new information surrounding the main sector was announced, as was information for Kabinett, Features, Premiere, Statements, and Edition.
