Geneva might be nicknamed the “capital of peace” but there’s little chance of rest and relaxation when artgenève comes to town. Instead, art world insiders descend on Switzerland’s second largest city to enjoy the fair—now on its 9th edition—as well as the city’s great selection of institutional offerings, such as contemporary art museums Mamco and Centre d’Art Contemporain. Priding itself on being a “top-notch fair on a human scale,” artgenève might be only half the size of Art Cologne or Art Basel, but with 90 galleries and a packed program of invited institutions and curated exhibitions it’s still good to arrive prepared. Luckily, we’ve gathered a handy list of highlights from both in and outside artgenève’s hallowed halls. Bon voyage!

More eager to please than most, when visiting any art fair it’s always worth checking out those galleries who are showing for the first time. With this in mind, start your day at the stand by Basel-based von Bartha. Dedicated to modern and contemporary art across historically significant periods, the gallery is mining its archive to present 50 works by 50 different artists they have worked with over the past 50 years. Including pieces by big names such as Imi Knoebel, László Moholy-Nagy, and Man Ray, the booth will have a focus on concrete art but will also show some cutting edge contemporary positions, such as Terry Haggerty, Florian Slotawa, and Superflex. Be sure to look out for a small-scale painting by Theo van Doesburg, which plays with geometric forms in bold primary colors.

Also having their inaugural presentation at artgenève, Lévy Gorvy—based in London, New York, and Hong Kong— will mount a group exhibition that gathers together artists working in monochrome. From an archetypal Frank Stellacanvas to a collection of unconventional black and white marble sculptures by Peter Regli (of Budda, Quan Yin, and snowmen) the works aim to show that it’s not necessary to slap on the color to get noticed. Another newcomer to the fair, London and Paris-based Campoli Presti, will present a group show that will include pieces by mid-career painters Catherine Bradford, Liz Deschenes, Rochelle Feinstein, and Cheyney Thompson.

For emerging artists, though, look no further than the perennially hip off-spaces Daily Lazy from Athens and Fragile from Berlin. Only running for a few years each, their inclusion in artgenève is based on the fair’s long-standing commitment to supporting young art spaces. No word yet on what Daily Lazy have got planned, but the curators at Fragile will present “Auditory,” a retrospective of sorts that will bring together music, poetry, and experimental sound. We recommend that you keep an ear out for Sung Tieu’s contribution, which combines recordings of bird song and laboured human breathing and was originally made for her 2019 exhibition “Parkstück” at Fragile. With solo shows coming up at Munich’s Haus der Kunst and Nottingham Contemporary later this month, the Vietnam-born, London and Berlin-based artist is set to have a big year.

Across the aisle, heavyweight Swiss gallery Hauser and Wirth, who now boast permanent spaces in nine locations across the world, will present works from their ever expanding family of artists, including a brand new ‘video object’ by Beyoncé-approved Pipilotti Rist. Also straight out of the studio and into the booth of Paris, New York, and Hong Kong-based Perrotin will be Gregor Hildebrandt’s Hedy Lamarr (2020). Made from an inkjet print contained within hundreds of cassette tape boxes in a wooden rack, the 46-year-old German’s depiction of the titular American movie star and inventor is part of his long standing interest in near-obsolete recording technology and how music helps form a collective memory.

If solo booths are more your thing, artgenève’s got that covered too. First up, Marseille-based Crèvecoeur will put a spotlight on Yu Nishimura. The Japanese artist’s enigmatic paintings often depict unremarkable scenarios—an idling car, a dog playing with a ball, a woman giving peace sign—but they stay with you long after you’ve left them behind. Close by, Lucerne and Beijing-based Galerie Urs Meile, best known for their focus on Chinese artists who work across a diverse array of genres, are dedicating their booth to abstract painter Qiu Shihua. Oui’s monochrome canvases might seem initially ‘empty’ but their figurative elements come to the foreground with prolonged viewing, offering a perfect opportunity to have a quick breather before heading to the next stand.

One of the elements that set artgenève apart from the increasingly crowded art fair calendar is the space it gives over to its institutional and curatorial program. With the intention of creating a strong dialogue between the art market and the not-for-profit world, for this edition the fair has invited a mix of regional and international museums such as Lausanne’s Plateform 10, ICA Milano, the Royal Academy of Art in London, and Le Consortium Dijon, which is one of the most significant venues for contemporary art in France. This year, the Royal Academy will feature a series of flag works by the legendary Michael Craig Martin who is best known for his Pop Art inspired sculptures and drawings dedicated to everyday items such as fountain pens, cutlery, and headphones. Craig Martin will be in good company with Mario Merz, another artist who spent his career looking at that which others ignored. As part of the artgenève/estates section of the fair, which is dedicated to showing installations by historical artists, the late arte povera artist will be represented with two monumental works. The pieces, a quintessential Merz igloo sculpture from 1998 and a rarely shown table sculpture from 2003, are exemplary of Merz’s fascination in the “wonderfully strange aspects” of the geometry evident in the natural world. On 31 Jan at 2 pm it will also be possible to see a talk between curator Samuel Gross and Merz’s daughter, Beatrice Merz.

Before leaving the fair don’t forget to swing by the section organized by the video art fair Loop Barcelona. Here ten individual projection rooms will feature films by a diverse array of artists including British duo Nashashibi/Skaer and the multidisciplinary artist Cecila Bengolea. The former will show Lamb (2019), a 16mm film of ewes giving birth to a soundtrack by composer Will Carslake, while the latter will present Lightning Dance (2017-18), which captures a troop of young Jamaicans dancing during a heavy storm.

After countless hours indoors, now would be a great time to step outdoors. Take the scenic route through one of Genève’s many beautiful parks to arrive at le Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain, otherwise known as MAMCO Genève. Located in a former factory, the institution’s exhibition spaces are spread over 3,500 m2, making it the biggest contemporary art museum in Switzerland. During the opening days of the fair you’ll be able to see a whopping seven monographic exhibitions, but if we had to choose, we’d make a beeline to see works by John M Armleder (also showing at artgenève with a solo stand by Galerie Catherine Issert) and Rosemarie Castoro. Armleder’s cabinet of curiosities style installation Quickland 2 was first designed for London’s Dairy Art Centre in 2013, but has been specially recreated here for MAMCO. Don’t worry if you miss seeing the work this time round though. The installation has been gifted to the museum by the artist and will remain in their permanent collection. Although she’s lesser known than some of her contemporaries, Castoro, who passed away in 2016, was an important figure in the minimal and conceptual art scene of the 1960s, which included figures like Agnes Martin, Carl Andre and Yvonne Rainer. According to the museum, the exhibition “offers a retrospective journey through the practice of an artist who favored transgression and metamorphosis over orthodoxy and linear progression.”

Another worthy trip would be to visit Roman Signer’s site-specific installation Treppen, a series of seven short films that run on a loop above the stairs of the city’s Genève-Eaux-Vives train station. Initiated by the le Fonds cantonal d’art contemporain, the Office of Urban Planning, and Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève, Treppen is the inaugural work from “Mire,” a new programme that aims to place art at the center of urban planning.

If you have time to hit one more gallery before the evening’s festivities begin then make it Gagosian, who as well as having a stand at artgenève, are showing Olivier Mosset’s works in Geneva for the first time in over a decade. Best known for his monochrome canvases in a dizzying array of shapes and sizes, the Swiss artist will show four vertical diamond-shaped paintings that are each almost two meters in height and over one meter wide.

By now you’re probably ravenous, in which case head over to pop up bar and restaurant Night-fall at Café des Bains for a menu (available from 20 January until 2 February) designed by artgenève director Thomas Hug. An official part of the fair’s offsite program, Night-Fall will feature dishes inspired by chefs Alain Passard and Jean-François Piège served within a space designed by Swiss artist and designer Philippe Cramer. After a quick dinner hurry over to Geneva’s historic Victoria Hall where on 31 January at 9 pm there will be a free musical concert. Titled Encores (Pt. 2) the evening will include contributions by Jean-Pascal Flavien, Pierre Huyghe, Anri Sala and Sam Durrant. Taking the idea that “musical ‘encores’ can result in uniquely intimate musical renditions,” program highlights include Huyghe responding to John Cage’s infamous silent work 4.33 and Sala playing with the conventions of political songs and national anthems.

After a day dedicated to scopophilia, we can’t think of a better way to relax than to sit back, close your eyes, and let the sounds wash over you.


— Chloe Stead