The Art Centre Basel, at that time known as the Tribal Art Centre, was inaugurated in January 1984 with the exhibition Resonances, a juxtaposition of tribal art and modern art. The exhibition was shown at the Art Centre Basel's headquarters at Sternengasse 6 over four floors and was created to be shown in Basel only.
Instead of homologies the focus was on analogies, instead of relationships chance acquaintance often governed the choice. Personal sensibility rather than specialist analysis determined the comparisons. Essentially the exhibition was referring back to the moment when Picasso encountered art nègre; in a way Resonances was re-enacting the spark of artistic openness which from that moment enlarged Western society's horizons for ever.
