In celebration of Hauser & Wirth's 30th anniversary, the gallery's booth will feature one of the most iconic art works of the 20th-century, Louise Bourgeois' Spider (1996). Measuring 11ft in height, the sculpture is a steel version fabricated by Bourgeois in her Brooklyn studio and has been in the same private collection since the 1990s. The booth has been radically redesigned to house Spider, which will be the centrepiece of the presentation. The sculpture will be shown alongside an outstanding selection of modern and contemporary masterpieces by artists including Philip Guston, Mark Bradford, Avery Singer, Christina Quarles, Eduardo Chillida, George Condo, Frank Bowling, Rashid Johnson, Gerhard Richter, Glenn Ligon, Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Maria Lassnig. In addition to the booth selection, works by Thomas J Price, Lorna Simpson and Anna Maria Maiolino will be exhibited at this year's Art Basel Unlimited.
Iwan Wirth, President of Hauser & Wirth, says: 'Louise Bourgeois was one of the very first artists to join the gallery. Our representation began in 1996, the year she created this incredible 'Spider'. It's an honour to bring this icon of 20th-century art to our booth at Art Basel this year to mark our 30th anniversary as a gallery, alongside many other cherished artists from our roster.'
The gallery represents the Bourgeois Estate worldwide and has had the privilege to present 15 Bourgeois exhibitions across its locations and commission nine books on the artist over the last 26 years.
Alongside Bourgeois' 'Spider', modern highlights from this year's booth include Philip Guston's late masterpiece 'Smoking II' (1973) – an autobiographical work of Guston smoking in bed, showcasing his unprecedented figural language which emerged in the late 1960s. Additional important works include 'Begirari I' (1956) by Spanish artist Eduardo Chillida, a rare and unique work which initiated a widely lauded series of five sculptures, and 'Composition á motifs d'oiseaux', a gouache and ink on paper from 1927 by Swiss artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp.
Later works include a prime example of Frank Bowling's iconic Map paintings from the late 1960s and 70s, titled 'Karter's Choice' (1972), as well as Gerhard Richter's 'I.G.' (1993) – an extraordinary painting of his second wife, the renowned artist Isa Genzken, who is part of the gallery's roster.
Exceptional new works by contemporary artists include Mark Bradford, Avery Singer, Glenn Ligon, George Condo, Nicolas Party, Lorna Simpson, Angel Otero, Rashid Johnson and Christina Quarles. Morphing between abstraction and figuration, Quarles' painting 'Fell Down Beneath They Own Wait (Tha Fences We Mended)' (2022) depicts figures giving way to multiple limbs and faces in the artist's hallmark painterly style, combining instinctive brushstrokes with carefully painted patterns.