14 Rooms at Art Basel

Curators have been looking for ways to incorporate performance in museum, bienniale, and art fair environments for several years. 14 Rooms, co-curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Klaus Biesenbach, successfully introduced performance to this year’s Art Basel. Imagine a large corridor with mirrored doors lining the sides of each wall. Behind the door, works by one of the 14 participating international artist activate each of the small rooms. The longer attendees wait in line to see the performances concealed behind each mirrored door, the more anticipation and intrigue build. Pictured is Damien Hirst’s Hans, Georg (1992). In this room, Hirst presents a scene of identical twins seated below his identical dot paintings. The changing pairs juxtaposed with the paintings proved captivating as the visitors tried to seek both the sameness and difference amongst the characters.

Damien Hirst, Hans, Georg, 1992, performed for 14 Rooms, Art Basel 2014