"Art cannot prevent tragedy. But it can ensure that human experience is never lost to it."

The 2026 edition introduced Zero 10, Art Basel’s new platform dedicated to art of the digital era. Bringing together artists working across code, light, artificial intelligence, robotics, moving image, and computational media, Zero 10 reflects the growing recognition of digital art as an integral part of contemporary artistic practice.

For CityX Foundation, the defining moment of this year’s Art Basel was the presentation of Pulse Agglomerate by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, exhibited by bitforms and Galería Max Estrella. During Preview Week, the Foundation acquired the work as part of its long-term commitment to preserving Fragile Art and supporting the future public accessibility of significant contemporary artworks.

For CityX Foundation, the acquisition represents far more than adding another artwork to a collection.

It reflects the Foundation’s commitment to preserving artistic practices that carry vulnerable histories, cultural memory, and human experience across generations.

Rather than treating artworks solely as collectible objects, CityX Foundation develops long-term institutional pathways that allow important works to remain publicly accessible while preserving their cultural significance.

Following its acquisition, Pulse Agglomerate is intended to enter a permanent museum collection, ensuring its continued public life for future generations.

As Rafael Lozano-Hemmer noted:

Among the heartbeats preserved inside the installation are recordings collected during the 2013 presentation of Pulse Room at the IZOLYATSIA Foundation in Donetsk, shortly before the institution was displaced following the occupation of its original site.

These recordings transformed the installation into something beyond a participatory artwork.

Today, Pulse Agglomerate functions simultaneously as a living memorial, a collective archive, and a testimony to cultural continuity.
Each new heartbeat becomes part of an evolving archive, allowing the work to grow while preserving the traces of those who came before.

Created in 2024, Pulse Agglomerate is a unique biometric performance and installation.

The work consists of one hundred light bulbs, each flashing to the rhythm of a recorded human heartbeat. As new participants contribute their pulse, the oldest recordings are replaced, creating a continuous cycle of participation and renewal.

Rather than remaining static, the installation constantly evolves. Every visitor becomes part of the work, extending a living archive through a simple yet profoundly human gesture.

Originally commissioned for the 60th Venice Biennale, Pulse Agglomerate continues to evolve with every new participant, carrying its history forward through human presence.

One Biennale after Pulse Agglomerate premiered in Venice, CityX Foundation presented Iron Drive, a live performance by Sergey Bratkov, as part of its Venice Biennale Preview Week programme.

Although radically different in form, both works explore how art can preserve human experience beyond conflict, carrying memory forward through participation, resilience, and collective presence. Rather than depicting history itself, they reflect on what remains: the fragile traces people leave behind.

The presentation of Pulse Agglomerate at Art Basel also marks the beginning of a broader institutional collaboration between CityX Foundation, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, and bitforms. Further announcements regarding the project’s future museum presentation will follow.

For both the artist and the Foundation, Basel marked not only an important presentation of Pulse Agglomerate, but the beginning of a shared institutional journey that will continue well beyond the fair.