Basim Magdy (b. 1977 in Assiut, Egypt) lives and works in Basel, Switzerland, as an artist and filmmaker. His films, paintings and photographic works are layered with poetic gestures and unusual observations that allude to absurdity as a daily occurrence. His work colorfully mixes fiction with historical references and collective delusion embedded with humor– all of which seem to be trapped inside a confused sense of time where the past, present and future constantly switch places.
His work appeared recently in solo exhibitions at museums such as Kunsthalle Bern (2025), Röda Sten Konsthall, Gothenburg (2022); MuHKA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp (2020); MAAT Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbon (2019). His work is in the collections of MoMA, New York; Guggenheim, New York; MCA Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Centre Pompidou, Paris; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; MAXXI - Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome; Castello di Rivoli - Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Torino; MuHKA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp; Deutsche Bank Collection; Sharjah Art Foundation; ARTER, Istanbul among others.