During Art Basel in Basel 2022 interventionist artist Massimo Agostinelli surreptitiously infused the Messe fountain with ecologically friendly bubble bath soap entitling the work ‘Art Bubble’ crediting the @artbaselguy on Instagram.
This marks Agostinelli’s sixth art fair intervention to date and unsurprisingly he shows no signs of stopping here. Given his astute observational interest in text and specifically word play it is only fitting that ‘Art Bubble’ highlights the very essence of the institutional critique where this all started from in 2017 with the infamous trashcan ‘La Plus Belle’ in honour of Marcel Duchamp’s 1917 Fountain.
Agostinelli is due to exhibit the series of Interventions at Nahmad Projects for a highly anticipated solo show which will feature a combination of sculptures and paintings.
Art Bubble was surreal with bright white frothy foam cascading through the fountain’s arches, reminiscent of Jean Tinguely’s Carnival Fountain encrusted in cotton candy or better yet puffy clouds or in many ways even powdered snow.
However, the true essence of this public installation is what remains unseen and instead felt. As Agostinelli stated on Instagram
“…there are a few who don’t see anything at all but joy & play, never let the child within you vanish, stay true and be sure to enjoy yourself now before you pop XX”
