BASEL.- For Art 41 Basel the Art Statements sector spotlights 26 solo projects by young artists. Selected by the Art Basel Committee from more than 300 applications, the participating artists come from 17 different countries.

The Art Statements sector has promoted young artists for over 10 years now, offering them a special platform that brings them to the eyes of an international audience of curators, collectors and art critics. Many previous participating artists have been awarded major exhibitions as a result of being discovered at Art Statements.

All projects on show will be created especially for Art 41 Basel. The participating artists come from Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

Since 1999, the Bâloise Group has awarded its annual Baloise Art Prize to two outstanding Art Statements projects; last year the CHF 30,000 Baloise Art Prize was awarded to Nina Canell and Geert Goiris. The company also acquires works by the award-winning artists and donates them to important European institutions; this year, the institutions are the Hamburger Kunsthalle und the MUMOK Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation in Vienna.

Every year, curators invite Art Statements artists to take part in their exhibitions, works are acquired by distinguished collections, and exhibitions are placed in well-known museums and galleries. Among the artists who made their appearance at Art Statements before going on to gain worldwide acclaim are Ghada Amer, Kader Attia, Vanessa Beecroft, Pierre Huyghe, William Kentridge, Ernesto Neto, João Onofre, Jorge Pardo, Manfred Pernice, Elisabeth Peyton, Ugo Rondinone, Hans Schabus, Gregor Schneider, Kara Walker and Gary Webb.

The following artists have been selected for this year’s edition of Art Statements:

A Gentil Carioca (Rio de Janeiro): Maria Nepomuceno, born 1976; Miguel Abreu Gallery (New York): Sam Lewitt, born 1981; Arataniurano (Tokyo): Takahiro Iwasaki, born 1975; Galerie Balice Hertling (Paris): Kerstin Brätsch, born 1976; Laura Bartlett Gallery (London): Elizabeth McAlpine, born 1973; Boers-Li Gallery (Beijing): Yang Xinguang, born 1980; Chatterjee & Lal (Mumbai): Nikhil Chopra, born 1974; Cortex Athletico (Bordeaux): Benoît Maire, born 1978; Ellen de Bruijne Projects (Amsterdam): Lara Almarcegui, born 1972; Dépendance (Bruxelles): Benjamin Saurer, born 1977; Freymond-Guth & Co, Fine Arts (Zürich): Dani Gal, born 1975; Hollybush Gardens (London): Claire Hooper, born 1978; Hunt Kastner Artworks (Prague): Eva Kotatkova, born 1982; Galerie Iris Kadel (Karlsruhe): Adrian Williams, born 1974; Galerie Kamm (Berlin): Michelle Di Menna, born 1980
David Kordansky Gallery (Los Angeles): Rashid Johnson, born 1977; Michael Lett (Newton / Aukland): Sriwhana Spong, born 1979; Lullin + Ferrari (Zürich): Edit Oderbolz, born 1966; Proyectos Monclova (México): Nina Beier, born 1975; Monitor (Roma): Francesco Arena, born 1978; Neue Alte Brücke (Frankfurt am Main): Simon Fujiwara, born 1982; ProjecteSD (Barcelona): Iñaki Bonillas, born 1981; Rokeby (London): Bettina Buck, born 1974; Gallery SKE (Bangalore): Sreshta Premnath, born 1979; T293 (Napoli): Patrizio Di Massimo, born 1983; Sassa Trülzsch (Berlin): Dieter Detzner, born 1970.