German artist Katharina Grosse has long been a fixture of Art Basel, and to celebrate the iconic art fair's 55th edition, she created the largest urban art installation of her career. Grosse is known for her large-scale spray-painted artworks, and she certainly brought her artistic energy to the Messeplatz for CHOIR.
The piece, which was on view until June 22, saw Grosse spraying white and magenta forms across the Heurzog & de Meuron-designed space. Grosse selected magenta, as it is the color most visible to the human eye outdoors. At over 5,000 square meters (nearly 53,820 square feet), it completely envelopes the space, transforming it into an unmissable artistic monument.
“Color, especially magenta, grabs your attention and alters how you relate to your surroundings,” the artist writes. “It becomes a tool to disrupt habits and provoke change. I want people to feel so destabilized, positively or negatively, that something moves.”
Moving freely from the pavement up the architecture itself, Grosse's work shows no limits. In fact, she likens it to “a vast painting [that] has flown through, landed briefly, and left its residue behind.” The ephemeral nature of the work, which lasted only a week, is also interesting given its context. While Art Basel is all about collecting and ownership, CHOIR demonstrates the power of art that is free and fleeting.
Curated by Natalia Grabowska of London's Serpentine, Grosse's installation is a celebration of freedom and the dissolution of boundaries.
For Art Basel 2025, German artist Katharina Grosse created her largest urban art installation to date.
CHOIR covers nearly 53,820 square feet and is an explosion of color.
“I want people to feel so destabilized, positively or negatively, that something moves.”
The ephemeral piece lasted just a week, demonstrating the power of art that is free and fleeting.
