Recently I had the privilege of travelling to Switzerland for the opening of Emily Kam Kngwarray’s retrospective exhibition at Fondation Opale in Lens. Arriving in Geneva, I caught the train to Sion before travelling up the mountain to beautiful Crans-Montana. Fondation Opale sits in the small village of Lens, in the district of Sierre. Lens, with Opale at its centre, occupies the saddle of a hill that projects out into the Rhône Valley.

Established in 2018, Fondation Opale is the only contemporary art museum in Europe devoted to Indigenous Australian art. For decades, its founder Bérengère Primat has been a passionate collector of Australian First Nations artists, building one of the world’s largest private collections of contemporary Aboriginal art.

That evening, I attended a special preview held for the exhibition’s lenders and supporters. D Lan Galleries has supported all three iterations of Emily’s retrospective — at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra/Kamberra, Tate Modern in London, and now Fondation Opale. Having attended the London presentation in 2025, I was keen to see how the exhibition translated into Fondation Opale’s spaces, which operate on a far more human scale than the cavernous halls of the Tate Modern.

After checking into my accommodation and wandering the quiet summer streets of Crans-Montana, I arrived at the preview to be greeted by the curatorial team, led by Luritja/Warumungu curator Kelli Cole and co-curators Bérengère Primat and Georges Petitjean. The guests of honour were a contingent of eight Anmatyerr women, Josie Pitjara Kunoth, Jedda Kngwarray Purvis, Judy Kngwarray Greenie, Maureen Kngwarray Purvis, Louisa Kngwarray Long, Jean Kngwarray Long, Margaret Kngwarray Long and Melissa Kngwarray Long, who had travelled from Alparra in the Northern Territory.

Emily Kam Kngwarray Fondation Opale (Lens/Crans-Montana) Installation View

Guests were soon invited into a space made luminous by many of Kngwarray’s finest and best-known works. The audience was led on a guided tour that drew on contributions from the curators and many of the Anmatyerr women whose unique insights into the paintings reminded the audience of the enduring culture that informed Emily’s oeuvre. Though initially shy, the women grew into their roles as interpreters of the culture and Country they shared with ‘old lady’ who, three decades earlier, had blazed a new path for Aboriginal women painters. Opale’s retrospective differed subtly from those seen in Canberra and London, with an increased number of paintings drawn from works from Fondation Opale’s extraordinary collection. Almost the entire 1,200 m² gallery space was dedicated to the retrospective, with an apportioned gallery on the second-floor exhibiting works from many of Emily’s peers including a few of the Anmatyerr women present. It was remarkable feeling to be amongst artists, curators and collectors from all over the world who had descended upon a tiny town in the Swiss Alps to gather and reflect upon the impact Emily’s remarkable career.

The following morning, I hiked down the hill at the invitation of Utopia Art Centre managers Liam Haley and Molly Burrage. I joined the Utopia contingent where the ladies, many of whom still battling various stages of jetlag, were resting in their unique surrounds. My conversation with Liam and Molly reminded me of the remarkable dedication that young people like them bring to their roles at art centres across the country. We reflected on the resilience of the women who had travelled so far to honour Emily and represent their community.

Emily Kam Kngwarray Fondation Opale (Lens/Crans-Montana) Installation View. Image: Courtesy Fondation Opale

That evening we gathered again for the official opening, which gathered some 400 people on the second-floor balcony overlooking the extraordinary alpine surrounds. It was wonderful to catch up with old friends, many of whom had travelled great distances to be there. Official remarks followed from Swiss and Australian dignitaries. The exhibition was formally opened, and the crowd spilled excitedly into Opale’s spacious galleries.

The following morning, we gathered in Opale’s remarkable amphitheatre for a presentation discussion with the Utopia women led by Kelli Cole and joined by co-curator George Petitjean. Kelli’s insightful presentation provided an inside view on her work over many years with Utopia community to bring together this exhibition into being. It was a timely reminder of the years of dedicated research and consultation exhibitions of this scale and ambition require. The gathered audience were treated to discussion about aspects of the curatorial and consultative process. The presence of the Anmatyerr women at the exhibition, and the contribution they made to the weekend’s events stressed the importance of keeping Aboriginal voices central to that dialogue that Australian First Nations art is having with the rest of the world. We were reminded of the enduring connection to Country and culture that animates each of Emily’s paintings, and of the extraordinary role art can play in international diplomacy. This was a wonderful way to end the opening weekend of events. Congratulations must go to Fondation Opale for the efforts to present a truly world-class exhibition of one of Australia’s greatest artists. Bérengère’s support to ensure that the Utopia community was appropriately represented at the opening should also be acknowledged. Congratulations must also go to Kelli Cole and the co-curators of the various iterations of this retrospective that have appeared across the world — Hetti Perkins (Arrernte and Kalkadoon peoples), George Petitjean, and Bérengère Primat at Fondation Opale.

Emily Kam Kngwarray Fondation Opale (Lens/Crans-Montana) Installation View. Image: Courtesy Fondation Opale

The following day I set off for Basel to attend one of the is the world’s premier modern and contemporary art fair’s, Art Basel. Founded in 1970 it acts as a global meeting place for leading galleries, artists, and collectors.

From my base in just over the border in Lörrach, Germany I caught a short train into Basel to attend the preview of Art Basel Unlimited, which according to marketing is ‘the fair’s pioneering exhibition platform for monumental and genre-defying projects that transcend the classical art booth.’ Put simply, it showcased nearly 60 large-scale paintings, sculptures and installations from art-world heavyweights including Ai Weiwei, Bruce Nauman, Ed Ruscha, Tracey Emin, Theaster Gates, Antony Gormley, and Yayoi Kusama. The majority of works had been exhibited previously in various exhibitions, biennales and museums lending a rather seen-there-done-that atmosphere. The vast hall was brimming with art-world stereotypes, enthusiastic and not-so enthusiastic collectors, gallery staff taking themselves far too seriously, curators deciding whether to laugh or cry, and those simply there to be seen and hopefully noticed.

Prior to the preview of the fair the following day I had time to visit a couple of local institutions that should be on the itinerary of all visitors at Basel. First was a visit to Switzerland’s most-visited art museum, Fondation Beyeler, in Riehen just outside Basel. The institution was built from Ernst and Hildy Beyeler’s private collection in a light-filled Renzo Piano designed building and pairs a superb modern collection with some of Europe’s most ambitious contemporary exhibitions.

The real revelation here came in the form of an exhibition by French artist Pierre Huyghe. He was an artist I’d never encountered previously, but will forever seek out from here on-in. His various videos, sculptures and installations were completely unnerving and unexpected. Huyghe calls his works speculative fictions, and that’s exactly how they register, work that sits on the seam between the living and the non-living and refuses to resolve. Running alongside it, Various Signs draws the Beyeler collection around questions of sign and meaning, with a room given over to George Baselitz — a quieter, more legible counterweight to Huyghe.

Next was a visit to the oldest public art collection in the world at the Kunstmuseum, Basel. The permanent collection was a jaw dropping mix of paintings by Hans Holbein and a strong body of Upper Rhenish and German painting of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Many paintings were illuminated by beautifully written wall texts that inspired insights, reflections and questions. It was thrilling to be provoked in such a way and a timely reminder of the power of good art writing. Upstairs was well-known works by Van Gogh, Cézanne, Picasso, Mondrian, Klee, Giacometti, holdings assembled over centuries and gifted by generous Swiss donors. Also on show was a wonderfully curated Helen Frankenthaler exhibition that paired her soak-stained paintings with the artists and works that inspired her.

Soon enough it was time to access the main part of Art Basel. Though no Australian galleries were included at this year’s fair, there were a small number of Australian artists being exhibited. D Lan Galleries partnership with Pace in London and New York meant that Emily Kam Kngwarray was presented at Pace’s ground floor booth providing an unparallelled commercial platform for European audiences to encounter Emily’s genius. Nearby at Château Shatto, an LA based gallery, works by Gija artists including Rammey Rammsey, Mabel Juli and Freddie Timms were also on display.

The fair was a typically overwhelming experience. Featuring 290 galleries from 43 countries and territories, it was set over two levels at the Herzog & de Meuron Designed Messe Basel exhibition complex. The unique spherical design allowed ample opportunities to escape the intensity of the displays and move into the open-air garden spaces for some fresh air and time to absorb the experience. Contemporary art fairs provide visitors with an unparalleled opportunity to encounter modern and contemporary art from all parts of the globe. Arriving fresh from Lens and the quiet, monographic focus of the Kngwarray retrospective, the contrast could not have been more pronounced. Fondation Opale had offered space for a single body of work to unfold at its own pace, Basel offered the opposite: hundreds of artists and galleries competing for attention within the same walls, spanning continents and centuries in the space of a few hundred metres. It was a useful reminder of how differently art asks to be encountered, and how rare, and valuable, an exhibition like Kngwarray’s remains against the churn of the fair circuit.