LISTE 15 | the fair

A brief history of the LISTE – The Young Art Fair in Basel

Summer, 1995
the gallery owners Eva Presenhuber and Peter Kilchmann contact the exhibition organizer Peter Bläuer with the concept for a new fair for new young galleries and young art in Basel. Peter Bläuer is intrigued by the idea and agrees to take on the fair’s organization and management.

Motivation for the project
By the end of the 80s, a new, self-assured generation of gallery owners and artists has come of age, but they have little opportunity to get a foot in the door at one of the established fairs. Moreover, the steep costs of such fairs make it next to impossible for many of these galleries to exhibit internationally.

LISTE 96
The new fair sees its primary task as the introduction of galleries that contribute to the zeitgeist and that represent important young artists. The LISTE does not consider itself a counter-fair or competitor but rather a complement to Art Basel and is thus run concurrently with Art Basel.

The early years
The LISTE 96 is a resounding success. The new forum for young galleries operating in the international arena attracts great attention among experts, art lovers and the media. The second year sees the initiation of a collaboration with the new main sponsor, E. Gutzwiller & Cie, Banquiers, Basel. In the years following, the number of participating countries climbs to 16 and, for the first time, tours are offered.

In the third year, individual presentations are introduced, which 7 of the 36 galleries immediately take advantage of. That year sees another first with the Centre genevoi de gravure contemporaine, the first special show, in which Swiss institutions focusing on young art present themselves. After only three years, the LISTE’s activities have already created a distinct profile, and the fair can hold its own alongside Art Basel.

The continuously changing faces of participants
In the meantime, every young gallery is vying for a spot at the LISTE. The number of applicants keeps increasing annually. Over time, one-third of former LISTE-participants are accepted by Art Basel, an unmistakable indication of the fair’s quality.
In the years following, the criteria for selection are made stricter and primarily only galleries in existence for under 5 years are accepted. In order to be able to introduce new galleries to the art world each year, participation in the fair is limited to 3-4 years. This change gives the fair a natural fluctuation. In the selection process, careful attention is given to choosing artists under 40 who are being presented for the first time in Switzerland or outside of their home country.

The trendsetter-fair par excellence
Within nine years the LISTE has established itself worldwide and has become an absolute “must“ for young art and galleries. More and more galleries from countries that are just entering the art market (e.g., Eastern Europe, South America) are shown. The LISTE 04 sees the first awarding of the newly created encouragement prize, sponsored by the Insurance Company Nationale Suisse., for Swiss art school graduates majoring in visual and medial art. The 15,000 CHF in prize money as well as a guaranteed exhibit at the LISTE are intended to support an up-and-coming artist at the beginning of his/her career. In its 10th anniversary year, the LISTE offers a forum for performance art for the first time.

Solid values
Alongside the constant change in presenting the art world’s new galleries, which is one of the factors defining the LISTE’s success, there are also permanent elements characterizing the face of the LISTE. The Kaskadenkondensator has been performing at the LISTE since its inception, and the Werkraum Warteck has been the fair’s annual home since 1995. The Warteck as a building has come to embody the LISTE. Less well-known is the fact that the building’s approximately 40 permanent tenants move out for the week of the fair. That some of them also work at the fair during that time is one of the typically untypical facts that lend the LISTE its unique charm. At the heart of the LISTE, and its source of vitality, is a tension between its role as an established fair offering not-yet-established galleries and artists a platform, one which enjoys the trust and confidence of both private and institutional collectors, international art connoisseurs and friends of art, and its task of opening the door for the new and experimental.