Vegas Legal Magazine: Can you talk about what inspired you to open a gallery in Las Vegas?

Mario Basner: Las Vegas has been my home since 2006. When I was ready to release the “Beelitz Sanatorium Series” in 2017, I thought long and hard about the best way to show this profound material. Although I had representation interest from world renowned galleries, it was more important to me at that moment to share this extraordinary experience with an audience in its entirety. This required a great deal of wall space, which led me to open the gallery under my own name. The initial plan was for a 6-week exhibition at Tivoli Village and we received an incredible reaction from the Las Vegas community. The gallery has become a staple of Las Vegas art & culture, a hub for philanthropy and I am proud to say that we have been serving our collectors for 7 years now.

VLM: Please discuss the evolution of the arts scene in Las Vegas over the years that you have been here.

MB: In my 18 years in Las Vegas, the arts scene has certainly refined itself and I think it holds tremendous promise for the future. Especially in the last years pre-Covid, I noticed a lot of exciting developments and enthusiasm about the Arts District, a proposed Art Museum and other innovative venues that are diverse and passionate, i.e. Core Contemporary. The pandemic slowed down that momentum but I am confident that the future of art in Las Vegas remains bright.

VLM: How did the pandemic COVID -19 shutdowns affect your business? How were you able to recover?

MB: The gallery only closed for 2 months in 2020 but despite being open, it was very challenging to deal with an unprecedented situation. We made a conscious decision early on to use our time to create progress regardless of uncertainty and low foot traffic. We gave the gallery a facelift and a new fresh look; we created a completely new website, put e-commerce capabilities in place and placed 30 ft building wraps on the building to create visibility from Rampart Blvd.. 

VLM: What artist inspired you to do what you are doing today?

MB: I would have to credit the German artist Gregor Toerz primarily. His story and dedication to his own work left me empowered to follow my own dream and develop the stamina to accept significant risk, especially when we first opened the gallery.

VLM: If you could choose what would come to Las Vegas next, what would be on your wish list?

Mario Basner stands in front of his art gallery at Tivoli Village in Las Vegas.

MB: I hope the Art Museum might turn into a reality in the foreseeable future. It will be an important catalyst to make Las Vegas an arts destination over time.

VLM: Lately, the issue of “stolen art” has been in the news. Contested artwork has been removed from Chicago’s Art Institute and museums in places like New York, after claims it was stolen during World War II. How big do you think this issue is going to become going forward?

VLM: Does the Southern Nevada community support the arts as much as is needed for artists to survive?

MB: This is a loaded question. On one hand I believe that in order to be successful, it is the artist’s responsibility to put themselves out there and find their audience. On the other hand, without the support of the community that can be a very difficult task. In my experience, it required very hard work to establish myself and remain consistent in that pursuit, working 80 hours a week and believing in myself and my work. Once I applied myself with this level of dedication, I received a great deal of recognition from the community and from other passionate community leaders who took note. There are so many tremendous cultural offerings in Las Vegas: the Smith Center, the LV Philharmonic, NV Ballet; the Library District has beautiful exhibition spaces. I believe the Las Vegas community is definitely supportive of the arts and the support will grow even further with more offerings and experiences available to them.

VLM: What do we need to do to educate Nevadans – of all ages – on the importance of art?

MB: Simply inviting an audience to have an experience goes a long way. The moment guests find themselves inspired by an art experience, they understand its importance as it is relevant to them.

VLM: Can you discuss your philanthropic efforts?

MB: We have been a highly philanthropic brand from day one, which came naturally and made perfect sense in relation to the material showcased in the gallery. After working with over 20 local non-profits over the years, I was looking for a way to apply myself in the best way and create a program that is embedded in the DNA of Basner Fine Art. In 2022, my wife and I established the ‘Mario Basner Passion Project Fund’ at UNLV College of Fine Arts, providing mentorship and funding for special experiences for photography students. Additional support is provided by other donors as well as the Zeiss lens company. This unique grant program encourages students to create a project around a thematic that is deeply important for them as a human being. The selected students get the opportunity to travel anywhere in the world to realize their project, some of which can be life-changing. It is a wonderful program and offers a significant opportunity to the students. In the first year, we saw a domestic project based on native American culture and another student will travel to Italy in late January. The current 2023 project proposals are being written as we speak – we are VERY excited to see where these passion projects will take the winning students! You can follow their journeys in real time on Instagram under hashtag #mariobasnerpassionprojectfund

VLM: As a German immigrant who lived in L.A. previously, can talk about your decision to move to Las Vegas? Was it hard to adjust?

MB: I have lived in the US for 28 years now and initially moved to Los Angeles where I resided for 10 years. I was a professional musician for 25 years and a music engagement brought me to Las Vegas in 2006. I immediately fell in love with the city and found this community to be very welcoming and supportive. I felt very much at home right from the start.

VLM: What’s in  store  for  those  who  go  into  the  gallery?  If  I’m  walking  them  for  the  first  time. What  will  I  see  right  away?  

MB: My  gallery  is  quite  different,  unique  in  many  ways. It  really  is  an  experience.  It’s  a  repeat  of  photography  that  really  concentrates  on  what  we’re  telling  and  showing  a  variety  of  different  series  that  really  encourage introspective. They  take  an  audience  on  a  journey  to  engage  with  the  subject  matter.  And  it’s  really  something to  be  seen  in  person. It  is  very,  very  immersive  and  there’s  literally  a  physical  sensation  of  depth  and  dimension. And  that  is  done on  purpose  because  it’s  really,  as  the  artist,  it  is  important  to  me  to  share  experience.  That  are  very  significant  and  actually  allow  the  audience  to  feel  as  if  they’re  looking  inside  these  environments,  and  as  if  they’re  actually  they’re  looking  through  a  window —  rather  than  just  seeing  what  something  looks  like. And it  really  places  the  audience  in  these  environments  in  a  way  that  becomes  a  very  personal  experience,  and  these spaces  are  for  a  moment  uniquely.

VLM: What  are  some  of  the  artwork  and  how  do  you  choose  them?

Windowfront of Mario Basner’s World Heritage Collection Art Gallery in Las Vegas Nevada.

MB: Generally  speaking,  everything  in  this  gallery  depicts  architecture  with  purpose,  you  could  say.  These  are  extraordinary  environments  that  have a very significant  history. A  lot  of  them  are  quite  historic.  All  of  them  have  a  very  interesting…  So,  there’s  a  lot  of  merit  and  a  lot  of  story  that, again,  plays  into  the  level  of  introspective.  The  rich  experience  that  you  can  have  when  you  engage  with  these  environments.

One  of  my  latest  themes  is  an  ongoing  series  of  libraries.  It’s  primarily  historic  libraries,  but  there’s  also  a  couple  of  very  contemporary  ones  in  the  series  now.  This  is  an  ongoing  and  growing  series … And  I  choose  this  thematic  because  of  the  inspirational  qualities  of  the  environment. So,  I’m  actually  not  a  big  reader.  So,  for  me,  there’s  not  so  much  about  the  books  as  it  is  about  the  effect  that  those  type  of  historic  environments  had  on  me  growing  up  in  Europe.  And  to  me,  when  I  grew  up  around  history,  it  changed  who  I  was  able  to  become  later  in  life, and  the  process  of  how  I  perceived  the  world  around  me. And  it  certainly  gave  me  a  different  perspective  on  being  grounded on  my  value  system.  So,  it  really  affected  and  kind  of  opened  my  future  for  me. I  always  say  that  libraries  are  not  just  places  where  we  might  get  educated. These  are  places  where  dreams  are  born.  And  that  is  certainly  true  in  my  case,  and  that’s  why  I’m very  attached  to — and  very  much  in  love  with — this  environment.  I  literally  feed  my  soul  every  time.  

We  also  have  a  brand-new  series  that  was  just  released  about  which  is  based  around  the  century -old  aging  cellars  of  earlier  the  13th  Cognac  in  France, which  is  absolutely  stunning.  This  material  is  unbelievable.  I  was  actually  personally  invited  to  capture  these  environments,  which  was  a  big  privilege.  It’s  been  a  very  long  time  since  something  like  this  was  done. So,  this  is  really  material  that  you  cannot  find  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  It  really  transports  again  the  audience  into  these  environments  which  are  not  only  very  iconic, but  they’re  all  just  profoundly  fascinating.  You  get  to  explore  these  historic  cellars  that  you  ordinarily  would  not  be  able  to  set  for  them. And the libraries extraordinary  environments.  They’re  treasures.  

VLM:  And  can  you  give  me  some  examples  of  those  libraries?

MB:  We  could  start  with, one in  Dublin,  very  famous  gallery.  This  library  is  literally  the  pride  of  the  country, an extraordinary  environment,  and very  famous  as  well. Then  you  have  the  Morgan  Library  in  New  York  City,  which  was JP  Morgan’s  private  library.  It  is  now  a  museum,  a  significant  piece  of  American  history.

The  George  Peabody  Library  in  Baltimore,  also  very  significant  piece  of  American history.  We  have  Almont  Abbey. It’s  an  attention  monastery  library  in  Austria. It’s  the  largest  monastery  library  in  the  world.  

Architectual Portrait of Trinity College Library Long Room in Dublin Ireland by Las Vegas artist Mario Basner

VLM: How  did  you  come  up  with  the  inspiration  and  the  idea  for  the  library  collection?.  

MB:  Yeah it’s an experience to be there. Actually, I like to capture the soul of the building if you will. The  library  was  my  second  series,  the  first  one  that  I  really  started  with  was  a  documentary  series  that  I  did  on  an  abandoned  19th  century  hospital, it was  built  for  treatment  of  tuberculosis  in  1898.  I  believe  we  saw  that  series  online.  That  was  really  my  debut  in  the  fine  art  domain  and  it  was  a  series  that  was  very  important  to  me.  That  then  led  me  to  spending  a  significant  amount  of  time  to  actually  complete  it,  and  really  doing  justice  to  what  I  found  there. That  was  a  moment  where  I  found  my  own  voice,  you  know,  where  I  found  my  purpose  and  I  inadvertently  put  myself  in  service  of  that. So,  that  is  really  where  my  signature  style  came  from,  that  first  series. The  libraries  where  the  second  series  that  came  to  mind  very  quickly  because  of  what  I  mean. Previously,  the  environments  that  hold  a  lot  of  meaning  to  me  because  they  have  helped  me  become  more of  a  human  being later in life.  So,  they  have  a  lot  more  to  offer  than  just,  you  know,  being  a  pretty  building  or  being  a  place  to  get  educated  in.  They  really  open,  they  change  their  personality,  especially  for  young  people. They  create  an  experience  and  an  environment  where  the  world  is  open  to  you.  You  know,  it  is  not  just  about  consuming  information,  it  is  about  being  inspired  to  become  who  you  are  capable  of  becoming  later.  

VLM: What  part  of  Germany  were  you from ?

MB: Hamburg

VLM: And  so  how  old  were  you  when  you  immigrated  here?  

MB: 27 or 28 (years old).

VLM: What  year  did  you  visit  the  sanitorium?  

MB: There  were  two  visits  starting in  late  2013.   The  main project  was  done  in  2014.

VLM: Why did you choose photography  over, let’s  say,  if  you  were  something  like  painting? Or,  was  it  just  all  with  a  natural  progression?  It  was  a  natural  transition,

MB: I’ve  engaged  with  photography  for  a  number  of  decades,  and  I  love  the  medium  very  much  because  it  is  real,  it  is  not  fictitious. But  the  subjects  are  real,  and  I  love  it  very  much. So, as for the libraries, I’m  actually  not  a  big  reader. It’s not  so  much  about  the  books  as  it  is  about  the  effect  that  those  type  of  historic  environments  had  on  me  growing  up  in  Europe. I  literally  feed  my  soul  every  time.  We  also  have  a  brand -new  series  that  was  just  released  about  which  is  based  around  the  century -old  aging  cellars  of  earlier  the  13th  Cognac  in  France, which  is  absolutely  stunning.  This  material  is  unbelievable.  I  was  actually  personally  invited  to  capture  these  environments,  which  was  a  big  privilege.  It’s  been  a  very  long  time  since  something  like  this  was  done. 

So, this  is  really  material  that  you  cannot  find  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  It  really  transports  again  the  audience  into  these  environments  which  are  not  only  very  iconic, but  they’re  all  just  profoundly  fascinating.  You  get  to  explore  these  historic  cellars  that  you  ordinarily  would  not  be  able  to  set  for  them.

VLM:  And  you  know  what  I  know  we  kind  of  touched  on  this  a  little  bit  before,  but  if  you’re  you  know  your  future  plans  beyond  whether  you  might  open  up  other  art  galleries  what  could  we  look  forward  to  for  you  know  the see next  from  Mario  Basner?

MB: There  will  probably  a  book  at  some  point, I  think. I am  engaged  in  a  lot  of  international  exhibitions.  I  showed  them  different  exhibitions. 

VLM: And, on  your  collection on the sanitarium: How did  you  know  about  that?  What was  your  inspiration  for  that  particular  subject ? 

MB: You  know  it’s  fair  to  say  that  particular  location  found  me.  I  became  aware  of  it  through  a  social  media  article,  and  I  was  found  myself  very  compelled  to  visit  and  document  the  site  which  happened  later  that  year. It  became  possible  to  do  that.  And  as  I  was  going,  as  I  actually  entered  those  buildings,  something  just  really  struck  a  nerve.  I  did  not  know  what  it  felt  like.  And,  it  was  a  very  humbling  experience.  It  was  a  very  profound  experience.  And,  it  really  changed  my  perception  of  the  world  around  me  and  on  my  own. I  rediscovered  my  own  value  system,  you  could  say.  I  found  myself  and  my  purpose  in  the  process.  So,  that  really  inspired  everything  else  that  I  did  from  that  point  forward.

Valerie Miller is a Las Vegas Valley-based award-winning journalist. She can be reached at (702) 683-3986 or valeriemusicmagic@yahoo.com.