Gegenwart – Museum of Contemporary Art – Basel

The Gegenwart (meaning The Present in English), also known as Museum für Gegenwartskunst , is a separate branch of the Kunstmuseum Basel, exclusively dedicated to contemporary art.

Opened in 1980, the gallery is housed in a former factory building, not far from the main home of the Kunstmuseum.
The Gegenwart features works from the collections of contemporary art of both the Kunstmuseum Basel and the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation (which also operates the Schaulager).

Works on hold at the Gegenwart include paintings, sculptures, installations, videos, and new media art by many of the most acclaimed international and Swiss artists such as John Baldessari, Georg Baselitz, Joseph Beuys, Miriam Cahn, Enzo Cucchi, Tacita Dean, Olafur Eliasson, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Dan Graham, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Hirschhorn, Maria Lassnig, Steve McQueen, Bruce Nauman, Dennis Oppenheim, Gabriel Orozco, Robert Ryman, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Wolfgang Tillmans, Jeff Wall, and Andrea Zittel, among many others.

The Gegenwart also hosts temporary exhibitions, lectures, and special events.

Exhibition “Joseph Beuys, Installations, Actions & Vitrines” at the Gegenwart, 2016, installation view with the works “THE HEARTH (Feuerstätte) 1968–1974” and Feuerstätte II 1978–1979, photo courtesy of Kunstmuseum Basel

Cover image: Gegenwart museum, exterior, photo by Julian Salinas