Basel, Hauser & Wirth opens new gallery with solo exhibition on Vilhelm Hammershøi

Hauser & Wirth ’s new gallery in Basel, at Luftgässlein 4, will open with the first retrospective in Switzerland of Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi, which can be visited from June 1 to July 13, 2024: Vilhelm Hammershøi. Silence, this is the title of the exhibition, will be curated by Felix Krämer, one of Hammershøi’s leading experts, and will feature eighteen works dating from the period between 1883 and 1914 from private collections, including many paintings rarely shown before.

In addition to the interior paintings for which Hammershøi is known, the exhibition also features a series of early paintings of farms and cityscapes of Copenhagen and London, alongside a rare self-portrait of the artist entitled Double Portrait of the Artist and His Wife, Seen through a Mirror. The Spurveskjul Cottage (1911). Nine other interior paintings depicting a solitary female figure are on display: these include several paintings featuring the artist’s wife, Ida Ilsted, such as Interior with a Standing Woman (1898) and Woman in Front of a Mirror (1906).

“It is a real honor to inaugurate Hauser & Wirth in Basel with the work of Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi and to realize this project with Hammershøi expert Felix Krämer. It has been a long cherished dream to present this truly exceptional artist whose lineage positions him as a kindred spirit to Johannes Vermeer, Giorgio Morandi, Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth,” said Carlo Knöll, director of the new gallery in Basel. “Hammershøi’s work reveals an extraordinarily modernist sensibility that continues to garner new generations of followers who join those steeped in 19th and early 20th century art history. His work resonates with today’s international art community, including museums and institutions in Europe and the United States, collectors, scholars, and living artists. Yet despite being a highly successful and nuanced artist whose works are held in museum collections around the world, exhibitions devoted to Hammershøi have been relatively few and rare. By bringing together the eighteen works within this exhibition, we will create a special opportunity to discover and rediscover this artist.”

The new space in Basel’s historic central cultural district, a former silk ribbon factory dating back to 1880 that includes an exhibition space and showroom on the ground floor, is in fact under the direction of Carlo Knöll, who joined Hauser & Wirth as senior director in September 2023. Knöll will further develop the gallery’s focus on historical and modern masters and foster relationships with collectors and artists’ estates. Vilhelm Hammershøi. Silence is the first in a series of historical exhibitions developed by Knöll for the gallery.

“The opening of this space in the cultural heart of Basel will allow intimate encounters with art of an extraordinary caliber,” said Iwan Wirth. “We are proud to contribute to Basel’s community of outstanding museums, institutions, private collections and galleries that attract visitors from all over the world. Since we opened our first space in Zurich in 1992, we have always sought to create a dialogue between artists of different eras. Hammershøi possessed a powerfully prescient vision, and his art remains as vital and relevant today as when it was created. We look forward to opening the doors to this unique exhibition in June.”

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog from the Hauser & Wirth publishing house, with essays by curator Felix Krämer and art historian and writer Florian Illies.

Image: Vilhelm Hammershøi, Interior with the artist’s wife, seen from behind (1901; oil on canvas, 45 x 39 cm; private collection). Photo: Annik Wetter Photographie

Basel, Hauser & Wirth opens new gallery with solo exhibition on Vilhelm Hammershøi

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