Gruppe 33

“Group 33” was founded on the same day Nazis began burning books en masse, 10 May 1933[1] and is named after the year 1933.[2] It was formed by 15 artists out of a shared political ideology in conjunction with a growing resistance to Nazi influence in the border town of Basel.[3] The members also opposed the dominance of older conservative artists who controlled the Society of Swiss Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (German: Gesellschaft Schweizerischer Maler, Bildhauer und Architekten, or GSMBA).[4]

The collective was mostly made up of artists and architects from many different disciplines, but also included poets, musicians, actors, and writers.[4] Their work was varied in expression as well as medium, incorporating avant-garde, surrealism, constructivism, and New Objectivity.[3]

Over the course of several decades, 38 artists came to be associated with Gruppe 33. It continued to serve as a network emerging expressions and artistic movements. The group was officially dissolved in 1970.[4] In 1983, a retrospective of the group’s work was held at the Kunsthalle Basel.[5]

• Otto Abt, painter
• Paul Artaria, architect
• Walter Bodmer, painter and sculptor
• Paul Camenisch, painter
• Theo Eble, painter
• Max Haufler, painter, actor, and director
• Charles Hindenlang, painter
• Daniel Hummel, painter and sculptor
• Carlo König, painter
• Rudolf Maeglin, painter
• Ernst Max Musfeld, painter
• Otto Staiger, painter
• Max Sulzbachner, painter
• Louis Weber, painter
• Walter Kurt Wiemken, painter

• Meret Oppenheim, artist[6]
• Kurt Seligmann, painter[7]