Outsider Art Fair to Debut in Switzerland Alongside Art Basel

The Outsider Art Fair, following editions in New York and Paris, will hold its first Swiss edition from June 13 to 17, 2018, at the Hotel Pullman, one block from Art Basel's venue. Twenty-five exhibitors, including Hirschl & Adler Modern (New York) and Creative Growth (Oakland), will showcase works by self-taught artists such as Adolf Wölfli and Aloïse Corbaz. Fair owner Andrew Edlin told the New York Times, "It won't be a reduced version of Art Basel or anything like that. You know that when you enter, you're about to see something completely different." The fair also includes a conference program on Art Brut. Founded in New York in 1993 and acquired by Edlin in 2013, the fair later expanded to Paris, boosting participation and receiving positive reviews. The article also notes the rising global recognition of outsider art since 2013, citing Massimiliano Gioni's 2013 Venice Biennale focus on Marino Auriti's "Palazzo Enciclopedico," the Philadelphia Museum of Art's exhibition "Great and Mighty Things: Outsider Art" (March 3–June 9, 2013), a major donation of nearly sixty works to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Christie's auction "Beyond Imagination" on January 19, which realized over $2 million. Additionally, the article discusses the expansion of art fairs like Frieze LA, CONDO (now heading to São Paulo), and Independent Brussels, which will no longer coincide with Art Brussels.