Artist: Niklaus Stoecklin

Opening at the Basel gallery in March is an exhibition dedicated to Niklaus Stoecklin (1896 – 1982), the only Swiss artist associated with the new objectivity movement (Neue Sachlichkeit).

Curated in close collaboration with Martin Schwander, the exhibition brings together rare paintings from the 1920s through the 1970s, tracing Stoecklin’s evolution from the cool, detached precision of interwar realism to the luminous stillness of his later works. Known for his meticulously rendered compositions and crystalline lighting, Stoecklin was a pioneer of ‘magic realism,’ combining technical mastery with psychological introspection. His work captures the tension between modern progress and the accompanying fears of losing one’s bearings, offering a uniquely Swiss perspective on Europe’s shifting cultural atmosphere in the first half of the 20th Century.