For ‘Choir,' Katharina Grosse Makes Art Basel Her Canvas
Summary
Katharina Grossehas long been fixture atArt Basel, and this year her contribution is more than just a must-see — it's nearly impossible to miss. For the 2025 Messeplatz Project, the fair tapped the seminal German artist to transform the pavilion withCHOIR,her largest urban intervention to date.
With an industrial spray gun in-hand, Grosse envelops the Herzog & de Meuron-designed space with sweeping blooms of magenta. The familiar architecture is disrupted and reimagined, as surfaces dissolve into vibrant fields of color. Curated by Natalia Grabowska of London's Serpentine, the work creates a fully immersive environment, recasting the venue into an artwork in its own right, drawing in excitement for all that awaits inside the exhibition hall.
In Grosse's words,CHOIRexamines humanity's 'obsession with control' and 'desire for freedom,' likening the work to a polyphonic chorus — a collection of voices momentarily held together in shifting harmony. The paint-splashed surfaces act as a rupture in the otherwise tightly-run interior, inviting spontaneity, impermanence and a disruption of the everyday.
A place and a moment at once,'CHOIRis transient and unrepeatable,' the artist wrote in a recentpost. 'It's as if a vast painting has flown through, landed briefly and left its residue behind. It belongs to everyone and no one.'
The piece is now on view in Switzerland through June 22. Check out Art Basel'swebsiteto learn more aboutCHOIR,the Messeplatz Project and programming for this year's edition.
Messe BaselMesseplatz 104058 BaselSwitzerland
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