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A selection of works, for its inauguration, is presented at Art Basel.

Thomas Houseago, Untitled, 2013, Graphite, charcoal, acrylic on vanvas, 274 x 183 cm. Hauser & Wirth

For the first time Hauser & Wirth presents 2D work of Thomas Houseago, the British born artist who is renowned for his raw, massive, figurative sculptures made of so called lo-fi materials such as plaster and plywood. Although 2D, the work succeeds to have a similar overwhelming power as when you encounter Houseago’s 3D work. The ghostly figures remind me of Fritz Lang Metropolis or Threepio, the robot in Star Wars. There is something very modern in the positioning and framing of the faces like it could be an album cover of a popgroup consisting of 4 members, or how the art director of Rolling Stone magazine, Fred Woodward, once positioned Metallica.

“Except for the Roni Horn work which is included in the Art Unlimited show, none of the works that we present at the fair, have been especially made for the fair,” says Anna Helwing of the gallery. “We do, though, ask our artists if they have something special that we can show at the fair”.

George Condo, Green Head Composition, 2013, 143.5 x 132.1 cm. Acrylic, charcoal and pastel on linen. Simon Lee Gallery

“This new painting by George Condo has been made especially for Art Basel,” says Tom Hunt of Simon Lee Gallery. The picture of the work, doesn’t reflect the power of the green in the painting, but no doubt that Condo’s distinct mixture of grim and comical elements in the work come across. In 2014, Simon Lee will present a show of new works by Condo at the gallery in London.

Idris Khan, Untitled, 2013, digital C-print mounted on aluminium, 160 x 300 cm. Sean Kelly.

Richard Phillips, Sasha IV, 2013, Oil on Canvas, 137 x 243.84 cm. Galerie Max Hetzler.

Juan Genoves, Esfera, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 200 x 200 cm. Marlborough

From a distance looking at this painting one might think the artist pasted miniatures on his canvas, but actually Genoves created the figures with paintblobs on the canvas making them 3D. Fascinating.

Sarah Morris, Rio Atlantica (Rio), 2013, Household gloss paint on canvas, 122 x 122 cm. Petzel

Throughout her career, the Olympics have been a returning subject in Morris’s work. The New York based artist makes geometric paintings and films that investigate urban psychological landscapes. Morris has made paintings and films on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 1972 Munich Olympics, and for the occassion of 2012 London Olympics she made a geometric painting of the Big Ben. In 2016, Rio de Janeiro will host the Olympics and Morris made a film about the city and some intricate geometric paintings of the city’s architecture.

David Salle, Hannah, 2013, oil on canvas, 39.5 x 27.9. Maureen Paley, London

David Salle, Untitled, 2013, ink on paper, 35.6 x 26.7 cm / 29.2 x 38.1 cm / 29.2 x 38.1 cm. Maureen Paley, London

Kaye Donachie, Against the mass of night, 2013, oil on canvas, 50.5 x 40.5 cm. Maureen Paley, London

Thomas Houseago, Yet to be titled (helmet head on plinth), 2013, Tuf-cal, hemp, iron rebar, redwood. Xavier Hufkens.