Art Basel: Animals

Creatures on canvas, cast in metals, suspended in air and more at Switzerland's massive show

Whether the main subject of a taxidermy-inspired sculpture or an allegorical reference within a larger composition, animals are an evergreen source of inspiration among a diverse range of media and genres. The pivotal role creatures play was apparent in fresh, provocative ways at this year’s Art Basel, where we encountered several works that shed new light on a classic subject. See the works that got …

The Burning House

A visual archive of last minute saves goes from blog to book

“If your house was burning, what would you take with you?” That’s the question that Foster Huntington poses in his blog, The Burning House. Readers respond to Huntington’s question with a single image and the corresponding list of the items they would snatch, making the Burning House a visual solution to the interview. “We live in a very material culture,” says Foster. “I’ve always been …

Institute of Intimate Museums

Pasta boxes become microscopic museums

A collection of dioramas by artist Kenji Sugiyama, “Institute of Intimate Museums” proved to be one of the most engaging displays at Scope Basel 2012. Spanning the artist’s output from 1999 to 2008, the works serve as clever variations on traditional diorama art—cramped consumer boxes containing lilliputian scenes of museum-goers standing in halls of shrunken art. Within the setting of the fair, Sugiyama’s museums forced …