Federico Herrero, Untitled, 2016, Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the UBS Art Collection.
UBS celebrates its 26th year of support as Global Lead Partner for Art Basel in Basel (13 – 16 June 2019), presenting new works by Costa Rican artist Federico Herrero. Building on eight years of collecting Herrero’s work for the UBS Art Collection, this collaboration is a celebration of UBS’s relationship with the artist. Known for his temporary site-specific interventions, Herrero will produce an 11-meter, abstract wall painting on-site in the UBS Lounge. The presentation will also feature a suite of five of Herrero’s new paintings, creating a monumental immersive experience for visitors.
Mary Rozell, Global Head of the UBS Art Collection, says:
“The UBS Art Collection values close collaboration with artists and the relationship with Federico Herrero exemplifies this. We have been collecting works by Federico since 2011 and now have four works in our collection, one of which hangs in our recently renovated global headquarters in Zurich alongside some of the most important works from the UBS Art Collection.”
Herrero will also present work in the UBS Art Studio, UBS’s public booth in Hall 1 at Art Basel, which will be dedicated to #TOGETHERBAND in support of the 17 UN Global Goals. Initiated by sustainable accessories brand BOTTLETOP, the campaign aims to engage hundreds of thousands of people across the world to raise awareness for the goals, in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, World Wildlife Fund, Project Everyone, Eco Age and Global Citizen. At the heart of the #TOGETHERBAND campaign are 17 sustainably and ethically produced friendship bands in the colors of the 17 goals made from up-cycled ocean plastic and Humanium, re-cycled steel created from seized illegal firearms. The production of the bands are generating skills and livelihoods for women working as artisans in Nepal. The bands will be available to purchase as part of the presentation on the booth and 100% of the proceeds from each #TOGETHERBAND are used to spread the word about the Global Goals and fund life-changing projects.
Federico Herrero says:
“My site-specific interventions around the world have really shown me the transformative impact art can have on communities, as it brings people together and can completely alter the environment. I’m passionate about how art can be used as an educational tool, by responding to the surrounding environment and seeking audiences to develop a deeper understanding of the world and how things connect, leading to a more sustainable future. For my work at the UBS Lounge at Art Basel, I created a group of paintings that will be in dialogue with a site specific mural. For me its really about this dialogue in the space, of how painting in itself is a type of Alphabet and an open structure where the notion of the intelligence of the senses can be activated creating engagement in time and space.”
Federico Herrero Sin título V.V.B., 2010Mixed media on canvas
Herrero’s works have featured in the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative presentations, and his painting Sin Titulo V.V.B. (2010), now hangs alongside 200 highlights from the UBS Art Collection’s 30,000 artworks in the recently re-furbished global headquarters in Zurich. The new display based on the theme Heritage Meets Contemporary references the history of the firm. It features Agenda (2018) by John Armleder, a monumental, site-specific commission for the entrance of the building, as well as the landscape-inspired paintings Lake Thun with the Stockhorn Mountain Range in Winter (1912) by Ferdinand Holder and Untitled (2017) by Etel Adnan; stills of the psychedelic film Pepperminta (2009) by Pipilotti Rist and the abstract works Pure Freude (2000) by Imi Koebel.
