As a draughtsman, sculptor, and installation artist, Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) fundamentally changed the art of the 20th century. In 1969, the Kunstmuseum Basel was one of the first museums to exhibit his works.
Shortly after the opening of today’s Kunstmuseum BaselIGegenwart in 1980, a selection of his works was exhibited in changing constellations. Since spring 2021, the new Kunstmuseum BaselIGegenwart has presented this group of works.
The eleven Vitrines of Joseph Beuys include many small sculptures and objects that are works in their own right, multiples and relics of spectacular performances by the artist.
They were first exhibited in Basel in 1998 under the title Laboratories of the Imagination (Laboratorien der Imagination). The Vitrines and the Basel Beuys Collection are permanently displayed in the Kunstmuseum Basel | Neubau.