You say Basel, I say basil.
Eileen Kinsella, June 15, 2018
The gadfly prankster strikes again—and this time, he’s bringing the puns.
One year after turning a garbage can at the Messeplatz into a “readymade” work of art during Art Basel 2017, artist Massimo Agostinelli played another lighthearted prank during the VIP opening of this year’s event—surreptitiously placing a basil plant at the booth of mega-dealer Larry Gagosian.
Basil at Basel—get it?
Agostinelli bought the plant from a nearby market and then placed it in front of a massive John Chamberlain sculpture flanked by Roy Lichtenstein and Mark Rothko works. Speaking to artnet News, he claimed that the presence of the plant immediately caused a stir, with a mini-crowd forming around it and taking pictures. Two media photographers even turned up to document the plant and asked Agostinelli to pose with his plant. Read more here