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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Emma Kunz: A Visionary in Dialogue with Contemporary Art

Mar 2 – May 24, 2021
Aargauerpl., 5001 Aarau, Switzerland

“Everything happens according to a certain regularity which I sense inside me,” said the Swiss-born artist Emma Kunz, “and which never lets me rest.” Her kaleidoscopic geometries and “energy fields” were little understood during her lifetime (1892–1963). Yet Kunz was convinced of her holistic abilities, and of the spirituality captured within her abstractions. She predicted her work would be recognized in the future, and her vision was true: Kunz is now in a pantheon that includes Hilma af Klint, Georgiana Houghton, and Agnes Martin. This exhibition sees works by 14 contemporary artists placed in conversation with 60 drawings by Kunz. All speak to her magical modernity. —E.C.

Emma Kunz, “Work Nr. 333.” © Emma Kunz. Photo: Conradin Frei, Zurich.