Basel Social Club
Basel
Mathis Altmann
Basel Social Club 2026
Jun 14, 2026
Jun 20, 2026
For the 2026 edition of Basel Social Club, Mathis Altmann (*1987) presents a new series of video objects accompanied by a sound sculpture and his latest works of large-scale silkscreens on canvas. In his video objects, he further develops the use of LED matrix technology through circular, disk-shaped modules. Installed at eye level, the works protrude from the wall, punctuating the viewers visual field.
These works continue Altmann’s exploration of post-capitalist conditions, viewed primarily through the experiences and perspectives of his own generation. The videos are composed of pirated footage, largely screen-captured from a wide range of online sources This material is interwoven with word and text fragments and material recorded using a video camera found on the street.
Millenial Oscillator, 2026 depicts a vocabulary predominantly shaped by affective and emotional registers. As its title suggests, Altmann oscillates between opposing emotional states such as euphoria and despair, an affective condition that the artist identifies as a symptom within his contemporaries, particularly against the backdrop of contemporary political mobilization. Layered with video imagery, the work traverses themes ranging from content creators, forms of collectivity to prescription drugs, fashion, lifestyle culture, and political unrest.
The title Walking Economies (2026) originates from a one-line joke. Yet the joke is never fully disclosed within the video; instead, it lingers as an open-ended question: “I’m a walking economy, you know? How so?”. Originating in an offhand joke, the work’s trajectory led the artist toward the conceptual terrain mapped out by Pierre Klossowski in his influential text The Living Currency (1970).
Hub (2026) presents an endless rotating animation of a ball bearing, the mechanical component that reduces friction between moving parts. As the center of motion (necessarily power as well) it keeps systems running smoothly and precisely, sealed against dust and dirt and optimally lubricated for continuous performance.
Atomized (2026) is a monochrome silkscreen on canvas rifting an archival image of late 1960’s layered with a strand of beads from thrifted jewellery. The work reflects on how the countercultural identities and appearances, once markers of ideologies, became increasingly atomized and absorbed into the mass, where the promise of the so called utopias experienced within platform capitalism emerged from.
The ensemble of works, conceived as a fully immersive environment, is held together by a sonic sculpture. Within this sculpture, the artist continues to emphasise the periphery as a space from which alternative forms of thought and action can emerge, while being penetrated by speculative narratives of progress and development at the same time.
Dates:
June 14–20, 2026
Location:
Erdbeergraben 1, 4051 Basel
Opening Hours:
Sunday, June 14: 2 PM – 3 AM
Monday, June 15 – Saturday, June 20: 4 PM – 3 AM
General inquiries:
info@baselsocialclub.com
Press inquiries:
press@baselsocialclub.com
Instagram
@basel.social.club
Mathis Altmann (b. Munich, Germany) lives and works in Zürich.
Selected solo exhibitions include: Individuality, Kunsthaus Biel/Centre d’art Bienne KBCB, CH (2023); Gibber, La Salle des bains, Lyon, FR (2023); Total Distress, Fitzpatrick Gallery, Paris, FR (2022); Amalgamate, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, CH (2021); nowewont, 2020 showcase, Wien, AT (2021); Butcher Block, Efremidis, Berlin, DE (2021); Powerlifestyles, Parcours, Art Basel, Basel, CH (2019); More than Yesterday, bottomspace, Guangzhou, CHN (2019); The Delve of Spade, Istituto Svizzero, Milano, IT (2018); Statements, ArtBasel, with Freedman Fitzpatrick, USA (2018); Foul Matters, Swiss Institute, New York, USA (2016).
Selected group exhibitions include: Pharmakon, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris, FR (2025);
Uncanny Garden, Salts, Basel, CH (2025); Zürich Biennial (curated by Mitchell Anderson & Daniel Baumann), Bechtler Stiftung, Uster, CH (2025); Le Nouveau Printemps (curated by Stephanie Moisdon, u.a.), Toulouse, FR (2024); Toy Section (curated by Blanche de Lestrange, Cédric Fauq, Anne Monier), Hangar Y, Paris Meudon, FR (2024); The Haunted House (curated by CURA), Casa di Goethe, Rome, IT (2024); Humain Autonome, Mac Val, Vitry-sur-Seine, FR (2024); Cruella De-vil, Sultana Summer Set, Arles, FR (2024); Rot, Kirchgasse, Steckborn, CH (2024); Une sensation contemporaine (curated by Claire Hoffmann & Olga Osadtschy), Villa Bernasconi, Lancy, CH (2023); Demanding, Yet Gentle, Clubhaus, Kunsthaus Zürich, CH (2023); baroque (curated by Lucy Chadwick & Taylor Trabulus), Champ Lacombe, Biarritz, FR (2023); Chômage Technique (curated by Mohamed Almusibli), Lovaas Projects, München, DE (2022); Swiss Emerging Art Prize, Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, CH (2022).
Public collections include: Kunstmuseum Winterthur, CH; MAMCO, Geneva, CH; FCAC, Canton Geneva, CH; Schweizerische Mobiliar Gesellschaft, Bern, CH; Rubell Family Collection, Miami, USA.
Publications and press include: The Uncanny House, Casa di Goethe, Rome, CURA Books (2024); Humain Autonomie, Mac Val, Vitry-sur-Seine (2024); Werkbeiträge 2024, Bildende Kunst, Kanton Zürich, Kunstbulletin (2024); Kunstbulletin (2023); Zero Deux (2023); Bieler Tagblatt (2023); CURA Magazine (2020); Amalgamate, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Lenz Press (2020); Flash Art (2020); Efremidis (2020); brand-new-life (2020); Spike Art Magazine (2020); AQNB (2019); RanDian (2019); Artforum (2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2013); Domus (2017); Inrockutibles (2014); artbasel.com (2014); Frieze (2014); CURA Magazine (2013)
