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2026-06-14

FOR ART – A Temporary Art Intervention by Littmann Kulturprojekte. Basel 2025–2028

ART BASEL WEEK 14–21 June 2026

During Art Basel week, from 14 to 21 June, FOR ART is open daily. The three historic houses at Rittergasse 21–25 are located just a few steps from the Kunstmuseum. From 11 am to 6 pm, you can discover works from the private collection of Martin and Veronika Burckhardt, together with works from the Karl August Burckhardt-Koechlin Fund of the Kupferstichkabinett at Kunstmuseum Basel, at Rittergasse 25. Also on view are a sculpture by Anish Kapoor and Johannes Brus, as well as the installation BANCA by Franz Burkhardt. In addition, you can explore the collective drawing project Cadavre Exquis, works by Peter Knapp, Michael Vessa and Timo Paris, as well as the FOR ART Café-Bar with its courtyard garden. These exhibitions and the Café-Bar at Rittergasse 21 are open daily from 10 am to 10 pm.

COLLECTION MARTIN AND VERONIKA BURCKHARDT
Of Private Treasures and Public Commitment

A rare insight into the connection between private collecting and public support for culture. The exhibition presents works from the Burckhardt family’s private collection as well as significant loans from the Karl August Burckhardt-Koechlin Fund at Kunstmuseum Basel.

Featuring works by Amedeo Modigliani, Alberto Giacometti, Jean Tinguely, David Hockney, Louise Bourgeois, Dieter Roth, Mario Merz and Markus Raetz, among others.

The exhibition honours the commitment of the Basel collector couple and highlights the importance of private cultural engagement—today and in the future. To learn more about the collection and the shift taking place in cultural patronage, watch the Kulturzeit programme on 3sat from 6 May 2026, starting at 24:22.

CADAVRE EXQUIS
A Relay Race in the Art of Drawing

Since November 2025, 40 artists have taken part in this ongoing collective drawing project. Inspired by the Surrealist game Cadavre exquis, it has produced surprising visual worlds full of imagination, humour and unpredictability.

For the first time, all works created so far are on view together. Their presentation also marks the public opening of the third house at Rittergasse 21 as part of the FOR ART interim use project.

PETER KNAPP
The Yellow Words

“The Yellow Words” in the stairwell of Rittergasse 21 are the result of a dialogue: the photographer and typographer Peter Knapp (*1931) and the Van Gogh specialist and art historian Wouter van der Veen have been studying Vincent van Gogh’s letters for more than twenty years.

The painter’s French reveals subtle irregularities, here heightened by the line breaks. Printed on canvas primed in different shades of yellow, Van Gogh’s fragmentary language forms a chromatic sequence that evokes light and the materiality of his vibrating painting.

MICHAEL VESSA
DWI Drawing While Infirmed

The American draughtsman, set designer, and installation artist Michael Vessa (*1948) explores our perception of spaces and images. He is interested in the tension between reality and illusion, between objective presence and subjective notions.

A constellation of vertically upright panels evokes screens; they serve as supports for whitish paint applied by Vessa in vertical and horizontal bands. “DWI” stands for “Drawing while Infirmed” – for Vessa, the production of art under conditions of physical limitation has itself become a subject.

TIMO PARIS
THE LIVING LINE

This large-scale work emerged from the performance and drawing series Tales Of The Unseen. On 17 June, its fragments will be distributed throughout the city of Basel as a City Drop.
Anyone who finds one of these fragments can bring it back to the exhibition and become part of a collective artwork.

FOR ART CAFÉ-BAR
The Café-Bar with its courtyard garden is more than a place to eat and drink: it is a meeting place and part of the artistic interim use project that makes the labyrinthine ensemble of Zur hohen Sonne and Rotberger Hof accessible in a new way.

Those wishing to take a break between exhibitions will find a place of calm in the Silent Garden – a hidden refuge under the open sky in the heart of the city. Access to the Silent Garden via Rittergasse 25.

FOR ART – A TEMPORARY HOUSE OF ART IN BASEL
Since 2025, FOR ART has been transforming three historic houses on Rittergasse in Basel into an open, temporary house of art. The former office premises of Bank Vontobel were generously made available to Klaus Littmann for interim cultural use until the investment house’s lease expires at the end of 2028.

At the heart of our programme are the themes of collecting, drawing, and installation/environment. Exhibitions, events and performative formats bring together people, art and ideas.

FOR ART is run by a small, independent team and, as a non-profit cultural initiative, relies on support. With your contribution, you help us keep this special place alive and continue to develop it. If you enjoy what there is to discover at FOR ART, we would be grateful if you spread the word, recommend our newsletter, or support our work.

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→ Contact: info@klauslittmann.com

With heartfelt thanks from the entire FOR ART team!

FOR ART
Rittergasse 21–25
4051 Basel
(Free admission)

ART BASEL WEEK
14–21 June 2026
Daily 10 am–10 pm
Burckhardt Collection daily 11 am–6 pm

more about FOR ART – A Temporary Art Intervention by Littmann Kulturprojekte. Basel 2025–2028

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