The temporary walk-in art intervention Arena for a Tree marked the start of Klaus Littmann’s two-part art and exhibition project presented by the Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger.
Since yesterday, the visit to Münsterplatz Basel can be combined with the exhibition “Tree Connections” in the exhibition space of the Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger, which is dedicated to the tree as a multifaceted topos in art history – from the 19th century to the present day.
TREE CONNECTIONS
The exhibition curated by Klaus Littmann in the rooms of the Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger shows the diversity of artistic engagement with nature. On display are around 75 works by 45 artists. Among them are the Swiss and Diday student Alexandre Calame and the German landscape painter Christian Friedrich Gille, whose paintings document how the tree was transformed from mere staffage into the main protagonist in the 19th century. The focus, however, is clearly on the 20th century. Here the tree is present in all forms of representation and art. As reliefs by Hans Arp, sculptures by Günther Uecker, Stephan Balkenhol and Hermann Scherer, project drawings by Christo, objects by Meret Oppenheim and again and again in the works of Joseph Beuys. Many of the works have never been exhibited publicly before, some were created especially for “Tree Connections”. All are on loan, almost exclusively from Swiss private collections and mainly from the region.
The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive catalog published by Hatje Cantz with essays by John McDonald, Florian Illies and Isabel Zürcher.
Exhibition
TREE CONNECTIONS
11.05. – 11.07.2021
At the exhibition space of Kulturstiftung Basel H.Geiger | KBH.G
Spitalstrasse 18, Basel
Open daily from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m., except Tuesdays
Free entry
ARENA FÜR EINEN BAUM
27.04. – 24.05.2021
Open daily from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Münsterplatz, Basel
Free entry
