Georg Baselitz at upcoming Beyeler Foundation Artist Talk
George Baselitz is one of the most famous contemporary painters who is also a well-loved orator. The artist, who recently turned 80 years old, will be guest of honour at the Beyeler Foundation in Basel on 16 February . His Artist Talk will be available to the public on a live stream via the Beyeler Facebook page at 6.30pm. To celebrate Georg Baselitz’ 80th birthday, the Beyeler Foundation is offering the public a chance to have a retrospective look at the work of the German painter, sculptor, and graphic artist, in an exhibition which combines his most important creative achievements as well as his new works.
Georg Baselitz deliberately focused on “protest and provocation” throughout his creative work and remains non-conformist. According to his own words, he has “happy memories” of Basel. Mr Baselitz will be talking about his work and his life to Martin Schwander, curator of the Basel exhibition. Viewers watching on Facebook are welcome to ask questions using the comment function on the social media site. These “Artist Talks” allows local as well as international audiences to learn first-hand about an artist’s creative process, life and work. “Artist Talks” is the most recent cooperation of the Beyeler Foundation and UBS and part of the enduring partnership between the two organisations. The first Talk was in May 2017 and invited German-British artist Tino Sehgal to give a talk. In the same year, German artist Wolfgan Tillmans came to Riehen for an Artist Talk, and Marina Abramovic was guestsuch a talk in London. Further Artist Talks are planned for the Beyeler Foundation as well as various international cities.
Seminal works by Georg Baselitz are on display at the Beyeler Foundation. The UBS Art Collection holds eleven artistic pieces, among them the wooden sculpture “Die Wendin”, which can now be seen on loan in the Georg Baselitz exhibition at the Beyeler Foundation. Sam Keller, director of the Beyeler Foundation, is overjoyed: “Georg Baselitz is one of the most important painters of our time, an artist who is not shy with words. We are happy that the public can participate in this event worldwide thanks to the cooperation with UBS. Johan Jervøe, group chief marketing officer of UBS, said: “UBS is very happy to strengthen its 16-year-friendship with the Beyeler Foundation through the Artist Talk collaboration. This new series offers direct access and unique insights into the work of the most influential and dynamic artists of our time.”
Tanker runs aground on the Rhine
A tanker loaded with about 1800 litres of heavy oil was damaged after it ran aground on the Rhine near Birsfelden shortly before 8.30am yesterday (Thursday). Nobody was injured, and there was no oil spillage. According to current investigations, the “Eiltank 24” tanker was being navigated down the Rhine when it ran aground shortly after the Birsfelden lock. The crew was able to steer the ship to the riverbank before it was secured by emergency personnel. The exact cause of the grounding is still unclear and part of an ongoing investigation. A possible navigation mistake by the skipper is part of the investigation. For security reasons, all ship traffic had to be stopped in the Basel region up to the Birsfelden lock for a short time.
New construction for Basel’s dentistry celebrates milestone
A ceremony was yesterday (Thursday) held to mark the roof being put on the new five-storeyUniversity Centre for Dentistry in Basel (UZB). As of summer 2019, the school dental clinic, the public dental clinic, and the university dental clinic will all be located in the new building inMattenstrasse in the Rosental quarter. Around 90 dentists and 120 dental assistants as well as dental hygienists will work there and providing around 80,000 treatments per year. In total there will be around 300 employees in the new building. After the first soil cutting in October 2016 and the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone on 16 December in that year, and the construction followed according to schedule. At the end of December last year, the architect completed the shell construction with the fourth floor. Yesterday, construction workers, representatives of the planning and architecture team, of the university, the UZB, and the city’s construction department celebrated the roofing ceremony.
Ready to be moved in by 2019
The interior of the building is the next phase of the project and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. The finished building will be open by next summer. Until then, all of the technical facilities within the new building have to be tested and approved. With regards to the 63 treatment rooms, 24 treatment units for students, two rooms for minor procedures, a ward with the state-of-the-art imaging devices, a research laboratory, central sterilisation unit, and an entire IT infrastructure, the commissioning process will be a crucial and challenging step. By summer 2019, the building should be opened. Basel’s residents agreed to merge the three dental clinics of Basel in a 2015 popular vote. At the beginning of 2016, the new independent UZB began working on the project. Until they move in, the three clinics will remain where they are: the school dental clinic is currently at St Alban-Vorstadt 12, the public dental clinic is at Claragraben 95, and the university dental clinic is at Hebelstrasse 3.
Department for Environmental Sciences will also move
The UZB is the developer and financial sponsor of the new building. It will occupy three quarters of the premises. Basel’s university plans to use the rest of the building to provide a new centralised home for the Department of Environmental Sciences, which is at the moment spread out across various locations in Basel.