Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou

Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou:

We applied to a call for entries knowing, right from the start, that we wanted to build a bridge between three types of culture: popular culture in the purest sense of the term, avant-garde art, and counter-culture. Our dream panel is one combining all three. Since we also wanted to create a dialogue between the French cultural industry and the fair, we thought of including cinema and fashion, which have been intertwined with contemporary art since the 2010s, as well as literature, music and theatre. Another priority for us was to forge a link with regions that were part of France’s colonial past. The first year, talks revolved around African avant-gardes, then the Caribbean, under the tutelary figure of Edouard Glissant, and this year we’re focusing on Dakar.

Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou:

Public programmes have become essential because fairs need to create symbolic power and provide content. They are also a platform for knowledge exchange. ‘Conversations’ is nevertheless linked to the market, while remaining independent. We don’t have any diktats, but we allow people to take a certain distance and adopt a perspective that runs somewhat against the constant hustle and bustle of the contemporary art world. These conversations are always recorded and our aim is for them to serve as archives of the art world. They feature the key players in the market and give us an insight into its transformations. It’s like a snapshot, which we can then look at in relation to earlier conversations. This year, we’re placing particular emphasis on galleries, which are virtually becoming institutions.

Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou:

Only to a certain extent, because the selection takes place as we are working on our curatorial programme, but we are always trying to establish links. What’s unique about Art Basel is that the programme is completely accessible and free, so we’re in contact with a lot of universities and we welcome many first-timers. The idea is to be accessible to the widest audience possible and to bridge the gap between different realms, which is why we have also introduced a performance programme, which will take place in a range of locations apart from the fair itself. It’s also a way of ‘embodying’ the conversations.

Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou:

Not at all! Even if some of them deal explicitly with the art market – such as the one with Sylvie Patry, Artistic Director of Galerie Mennour and formerly at the Musée d’Orsay, and Dame Julia Peyton-Jones, who used to work at the Serpentine in London and has been with Thaddaeus Ropac for several years. The idea is to show how certain galleries are going to work with curators to develop a series of research projects and residencies, far removed from the purely commercial aspects. This also illustrates an evolution of the market, perhaps the most significant since the professionalisation of the art world in the 1990s. But we also cover a whole range of other topics, including the links between art and fashion, queer art, the question of beauty versus the grotesque, and so on. Everyone can find a topic that interests them and explore it in greater depth thanks to a stimulating debate.

Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou:

That’s right, particularly with the conversation on the ugly and the grotesque, where we’re inviting contemporary neo-pop and neo-surrealist artists Jamian Juliano-Villani and Diego Marcon, and will also revolve around the figure of Jean Genet. We’re devoting a conversation to the writer, known for his misappropriation of values and fervent militancy in favour of oppressed communities like the Black Panthers and humanity at large. We aim to encourage a challenging approach to conventions and a taste for transgression, which etymologically means going across the rule. That’s precisely what we’re always trying to do. For instance, when we talk about dandyism, we’re exploring the notion in its most marginal forms, like the figure of the dandy mother, the dandy black, the dandy lesbian… archetypes far removed from standard categories.

Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou:

We aren’t trying to lecture anyone here, but there’s no denying that topical issues affect all societal strata, so we try to raise them in the conversations. This is why one of them deals with Natalie Clifford Barney’s friendship salons. The talk goes under the title ‘Paris queer, des salons aux interzones’, and revolves around the term ‘Interzone’, coined by William Burroughs to refer to alternative spaces where social links are forged. So we’re trying to find new dynamics, which we explore by confronting opposites, like galleries vs institutions, or museums vs transgression. We tackle issues that we find fascinating and relevant, no matter if they date from older times, like a phrase written by Arthur Rimbaud in the mid-19th century, which still resonates in contemporary art…

Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou:

For starters, they have physically moved, and we are very glad to be welcomed at the Petit Palais this year. We have also developed many collaborations, like with agnès b, Le Bicoloure – Maison du Danemark for Christian Falsnae’s performance, and System Magazine, all to broaden both the perspectives and players involved. We are also organising a performance by Children of Noise, a collaborative work that brings together Aho Ssan, an electronic and acousmatic musician, and Asia Jiménez. To further reflect this aim of stimulating a clash of contrasts, the performance will be held at the Maison Ducasse-Baccarat, so the wild nature of the experience is set against the opulence of the place. We like the idea of integrating vocabulary and sometimes stereotypes of the fair into the conversations, so they can be talked about freely in a safe and open space. 

Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou:

This programme is extremely valuable and enriching for us since it allows us to meet international artists and curators. We come from a rather alternative culture and are always fascinated by this kind of majestic institution. Art Basel’s format allows for a clash of subjectivities. It’s always interesting to see people from different geographies and backgrounds debating a hot topic while waiting for what’s going to happen. Because we stage everything: the set, the theme, the actors… but you never know what the outcome will be.  Which is just great!