Healer Emma Kunz takes centre stage at Independent 20th Century
A Swiss natural healer who insisted she was a researcher, not an artist, has taken centre stage at a New York fair for 20th-century art.
Hauser & Wirth has staged a solo presentation — a stand devoted to one artist — of Emma Kunz at Independent 20th Century 2026. It is the gallery's first time exhibiting at the fair, according to Artnet. The fair, now in its fifth edition, runs from 24 to 27 September 2026 at Sotheby's at The Breuer in New York.
Kunz lived from 1892 to 1963 in Switzerland. She received no formal art training and rejected the label of artist in her lifetime. She said she was first and foremost a researcher.
She started drawing in the 1930s. She worked on graph paper with pencil, coloured pencil and oil pastels, building precise geometric patterns line by line. She was known throughout her life as a natural healer. She is credited with discovering the AION A healing stone in a Roman quarry in Würenlos, Switzerland.
At the fair, Hauser & Wirth brought nine of her compositions. They are priced at US$280,000 to US$310,000 each. Carlo Knoell is Senior Director at Hauser & Wirth. Since the 1970s, Kunz has been regarded as a pioneering figure in 20th-century art history.
She is not the only healer in the building. Mitchell-Innes and Nash presented a curated survey of work by General Idea, the artist collective that included AA Bronson, born in 1946. Bronson began training as a healer nearly 30 years before 2026.
What makes this stand out for visitors is the pairing. Two very different careers, decades apart, both test where care work ends and art begins. No special knowledge is needed to follow it. Just look closely, then read the labels.
Kunz has company in that story. Hilma af Klint, who lived from 1862 to 1944, arrived at pioneering work through conscious collaboration with spirit, as did Kunz, according to Temporary Art Review. The Drawing Center in New York has grouped Kunz, af Klint and Agnes Martin together as three women artists exploring new methods of drawing. Serpentine Galleries in London has described Kunz as a visionary artist, healer and researcher, and its exhibition Emma Kunz: Visionary Drawings featured over 40 rarely seen drawings.
A 2019 London exhibition selected by curator Melissa Blanchflower included around 65 of her mandala-like, geometric drawings, circular patterns made for focus and calm.
Independent 20th Century 2026 is open Friday, 25 September 2026 from 11 AM to 7 PM, Saturday, 26 September from 11 AM to 7 PM, and Sunday, 27 September from 12 PM to 6 PM. Details are listed by the fair organiser.
