Tiny Fish, Big Splash: When Guppies Steal the Spotlight at Art Basel

A school of wooden guppies turned heads at Art Basel 2024, where Francisco Sierra’s installation Guppy snagged the inaugural People’s Pick prize. Forty-eight life-sized fish, carved in relief across wooden panels, echoed the look of home aquariums—yet beneath the playful surface, Sierra’s work offers a sharp critique of pet breeding culture. Sierra, a Chilean Swiss artist known for his self-taught, photorealistic style, thrives on twisting the familiar into the surreal. His art often uses irony and humor to poke at the oddities of modern life, making the ordinary suddenly strange. This year’s fair also spotlighted Chiharu Shiota’s intricate thread installation and Wu Tien-Chang’s evocative photo-paintings, while the Baloise Art Prize recognized artists exploring themes of memory and migration. At Art Basel, even the smallest fish can make the biggest waves. #ArtBasel2024 #ContemporaryArt #FranciscoSierra