Basel, Switzerland
Katie Lockhart | September 8th, 2010
The nicest surprise on my recent European trip was Basel. Although planned primarily as a two day birthday surprise for a friend who was in Basel for the art fair we found that our days quickly filled with some of the most amazing things I have ever seen.
Our pilgrimage to Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp was by far the highlight. I can’t explain it, you just have to go.
Rudolf Steiner’s village in Dornach (a short car ride out of Basel) was unlike anything I had ever seen before, I expected Gargamel and Papa Smurf to appear around the next corner. Wild flowers, colour theory exhibitions and buildings that are more sculptural than architectural… and then there was the powerstation.. wow.
The recently completed Vitra Haus by Herzog & de Meuron where we ate cherries straight off the trees and poured over out of production furniture is a must see. The huge Matthew Barney show at the Schaulager and the Basquiat show at Foundation Beyeler topped off what was almost a cultural download.
Schaulager, Ruchfeldstrasse 19, CH-4142 Münchenstein / Basel. +41 61 335 32 32; www.schaulager.org
Foundation Beyeler, Baselstrasse 101, CH-4125 Riehen / Basel. + 41 61 645 97 00; www.beyeler.com
