Sally Gabori and Forrest Bess at Fondazione Opale in Switzerland

The Fondazione Opale in Lens, Switzerland, presents 'Beneath the Reflections of the World,' a dual exhibition pairing the works of Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori (c.1924–2015) and Forrest Clemenger Bess (1911–1977). Curated by Samuel Gross of the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in Geneva and Georges Petitjean, curator of the Opale collection, the show runs until November 16, 2025. The Fondazione Opale, founded in 2018, is dedicated to promoting contemporary Aboriginal art in Europe and internationally. Gabori, a Kaiadilt artist, was forcibly displaced from her island home after a tornado in the 1920s and began painting at age 81, becoming a late-blooming sensation. Bess, supported by the Betty Parsons Gallery in the 1950s and 1960s, remained a reclusive artist exploring Jungian archetypes and hermaphroditic symbolism. The exhibition contrasts Gabori's monumental, colorful canvases evoking the South Seas with Bess's intimate, framed works, emphasizing their shared spiritual quests despite formal differences.