Irène Zurkinden

27 August – 28 November

Basel

Dates

27 August – 28 November 2026

Location

Basel Directions

Materials

Press Release (En)Press Release (De)

Artwork Inquiry

Coinciding with Kunsttage Basel, this August we present a solo exhibition dedicated to the work of Swiss artist Irène Zurkinden (1909 – 1987) at our Basel gallery. Zurkinden defied easy categorisation, developing a distinctive painterly language that drew on both Surrealism and Neo-Impressionism. Known for commissioned portraits of Basel society, the presentation highlights a more intimate body of work centered on portraits and self-portraits, offering a deeply personal perspective on Zurkinden's life and experiences.

Born in Basel in 1909, Zurkinden initially trained to become a fashion illustrator, before moving to Paris in 1929 to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. There, she embraced the city’s liberated culture and became a part of its vibrant artistic milieu, cultivating a social circle that included Salvador Dalí, Man Ray and Kiki de Montparnasse. In 1932, Zurkinden convinced her friend, Meret Oppenheim, to join her in Paris, setting in motion a chain of events that led to the creation of Oppenheim’s iconic ‘Object (Le déjeuner en fourrure)’ (1936). One of Zurkinden’s many portraits of Oppenheim appears in the exhibition, alongside depictions of friends including the artist Lotti Kraus, the dancer Marie-Eve Kreis and the Argentine-British painter Eileen Agar.

Zurkinden, an extraordinarily gifted portraitist, moved easily between the commissions she created for wealthy Swiss families and the more personal canvases on view in Basel, contrasting the studied neutrality of the former with the rich interiority captured in the latter. Other works, such as ‘Vally’ (1946), reflect the artist’s fascination with the female form, imbued with strength and sensuality. Radical in the context of mid-century Switzerland and progressive even by liberal standards of the time, Zurkinden pursued romantic relationships with both men and women and later embarked on a decade-long relationship with the German Afro-Brazilian jazz musician Kurt Fenster, with whom she had two children.

Zurkinden never adhered to one school or movement but rather pursued a determinedly singular practice that drew on both surrealism and neo-impressionism. Though immersed in surrealist circles, she set herself apart by looking back to the 19th Century, recontextualizing traditional techniques and motifs in service of her strikingly personal, progressive vision. At the same time, Zurkinden remained attentive to the ideas of her contemporaries, and a selection of ink drawings reveals the enduring influence of surrealism throughout her career, from the sense of whimsy that infuses works such as ‘Ohne Titel (Surrealistische Zeichnung (Surrealist Drawing))’ (ca. 1930s) to her deconstruction of the body in ‘Hände (Hands)’ (1952).

From the late 1920s through to the 1960s, Zurkinden also painted numerous self-portraits, which speak at once to the artist’s playful self-dramatization and to the strength required to live so individualistically. The compelling full-length nude ‘Selbstbildnis (Self-Portrait)’ (ca. 1939) demonstrates the unflinching frankness with which Zurkinden portrayed her own body, while another early self-portrait from 1927, shows her looking out of the canvas with an intense, challenging gaze. The artist also captured her own likeness in a number of intimate works on paper depicting her and Fenster, whom she met in 1934. Having lived between Paris and Basel, the outbreak of World War II forced the couple to settle in Switzerland, where Zurkinden joined the Basel-based anti-fascist collective Gruppe 33—making her, alongside Oppenheim, one of just two female members.

After the war, Zurkinden returned to spending time in Paris. She began to accept theatre commissions for set and costume design as well as portraits and illustrations, and travelled extensively through Spain, Italy and Morocco. Although she exhibited regularly until her death in 1987, Zurkinden’s contributions to 20th-century art remained comparatively overlooked. Ranging from tender to experimental, playful to resolute, the works on view in Basel assert the visionary nature of Zurkinden’s practice while offering a window into an extraordinary life.

Installation Views

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Irène Zurkinden in her studio © Estate Irène Zurkinden. Photo: S. Zurkinden

About the Artist

Irène Zurkinden (1909 – 1987) was a painter whose work occupied an important place within 20th-century Swiss art. Born in Basel, she studied at the city's School of Applied Arts before travelling to Paris in 1929, where she became closely connected to the city's art scene. Throughout her life, she remained closely connected to both Basel and Paris, where the people, streets and cultural life became important sources of inspiration. Portraits, self-portraits, urban scenes and depictions of everyday life formed the core of her oeuvre, reflecting her close observation of the people and environments around her. Although she was part of the cosmopolitan artistic circles of Paris and maintained close friendships with figures such as Meret Oppenheim, Zurkinden followed her own artistic path. Her work brings together a wide range of subjects and reflects her enduring interest in the people and social worlds that surrounded her. Today, Zurkinden is recognised for her contributions to Swiss art and her work continues to receive renewed attention through exhibitions and research.