Andrea Viliani – författare

Art Basel's official annual publication captures and documents the exhibitions in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong Kong, and goes beyond them, featuring interviews, portfolios, essays about contemporary art, and personal highlights from artists, curators, collectors and museum directors. With its A–Z format, this year's publication maps the world of Art Basel alongside profiles spotlighting each of the 500-plus galleries that participated across the three fairs in 2017. Interviewees and contributors include Cecilia Alemani, Harry Bellet, Tobia Bezzola, Claudia Comte, Rhana Devenport, David Gryn, Hou Hanru, Reem Fadda, Niels Borch Jenssen, Philipp Kaiser, Mami Kataoka, Kimsooja, Venus Lau, Lesley Ma, Claire McAndrews, Zanele Muholi, Kingsley Ng, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Aaron Seeto, Fabrice Stroun, Keiichi Tanaami, Andrea Viliani, Michael Werner, Qiao Zhibing and many others whose work contributed this year to the fairs on all three continents.

Each copy of this opulent survey on John Armleder features a uniquely treated cover by the artist

The work of influential Swiss artist John Armleder (born 1948) has spanned many mediums, from his distinctive Furniture Sculptures to his Fluxus performances with the Écart collective, from his diverse painting series to his drawing practice, from his striking installations and wall paintings to his numerous collaborative works. Published to accompany two simultaneous exhibitions—one a rare retrospective, and one an exhibition of installation and total environments—John Armleder: The Grand Tour immerses the reader in the artist’s world. Each copy of the book features a unique cover by the artist, treated with special color inks and glitter.An extensive interview with the artist, an essay about Armleder’s painting and its historical relevance by curator Heidi Zuckerman, and a complete biography and bibliography supply a grand synthesis of Armleder’s influential oeuvre.As Zuckerman puts it in her essay, underlining how Armleder has served as a role model for generations of younger contemporary artists: “In a time when the attempt to categorize as a means to understand as well as self-locate is prevalent in both life and art, John Armleder remains known for having no restrictions or fixed ways of working.”