London's The Gallery of Everything is presenting the first survey of Haitian painter Hector Hyppolite in a European commercial setting at Art Basel Paris, opening October 24. The solo booth in the fair's Premise sector features works by Hyppolite, including three pieces from the historic 1947 exhibition "Le Surréalisme en 1947," along with documentation, photos, and an essay by Manthia Diawara and Terri Geis. Hyppolite, a self-taught vodou priest who died in 1948, was championed by Surrealist founder André Breton after Breton encountered his work in Haiti in 1945.
The booth matters because it marks a shift in how Hyppolite's work is received within the art world, moving away from labels like "naïve" or "primitive" that once marginalized self-taught artists. Following Hyppolite's inclusion in major Surrealism centennial exhibitions last year, the presentation reflects a broader institutional effort to expand the canon and recognize Afro-Caribbean contributions to Surrealism. Gallery founder James Brett frames the project as advocacy for art historically placed at the "low" end of hierarchies, arguing that gap is narrowing each year.