Art Basel 2025 Parcours: 10 standout projects explore nature and artifice

For the second consecutive year, Stefanie Hessler, director of the Swiss Institute in New York, curates the Parcours section of Art Basel 2025. The 21 selected projects are united by the theme 'Second Nature,' exploring the blurred boundary between the natural and the artificial. Works are installed across Basel in unconventional venues, from the Manor department store window to the apse of a Catholic church, a pedestrian underpass along the Rhine, the Merian Hotel garage, and even a frozen tropical fish retailer. Among the 10 most convincing projects are Hylozoic / Desires' 80-meter textile installation on the colonial Inland Customs Line, Marianna Simnett's hot dog stand performance in a parking garage, Francesco Arena's bronze swings questioning time, Martha Atienza's video on illegal fishing at Tropical Zone, Selma Selman's Mercedes hoods installation in a church apse, Thomas Bayrle's limited-edition transparent raincoats, Mohammad AlFaraj's stop-motion ecological fable, Yu Ji's post-apocalyptic banquet, Fiona Banner's tattooed flags on Mittelere Brücke, and Liang Shaoji's silkworm meditation. The curatorial approach is noted for its dynamic venue selection and inclusion of emerging artists like Selma Selman.