Josef Albers, Louise Bourgeois, Gunther Forg, Donald Judd, Len Lye and George Rickey: Group Exhibition
A group exhibition featuring internationally renowned artists Josef Albers (Germany), Louise Bourgeois (France), Gunther Forg (Germany), Donald Judd (USA), Len Lye (NZ / USA), Gerhard Richter (Germany) and George Rickey (USA). Although working in a variety of forms and materials each are linked by their minimalist aesthetic.
George Rickey began his artistic career in New York in 1933 with an exhibition of paintings. From 1950 however he concentrated almost fully on sculpture with the articulation of movement being his primary focus. In keeping with Rickey’s desire to emulate and pay homage to the forces of nature, gravity is the driving force rather than mechanics. Both indoor wall mounted works and large outdoor pieces will feature in this exhibition.
Comparatively, Len Lye’s works are mechanically driven. His first ‘bounding steel’ compositions were originally exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1961 after he emigrated from New Zealand to the United States. Exploiting the flexibility of steel strips, hoops and rods, Lye’s motion sculptures do not only portray movement – they directly create it. Featured will be Roundhead – a work consisting of four rings revolving at differing speeds while an adjusted music box provides sound.
Josef Albers was a member of the German Bauhaus School before he immigrated to America. He is most known for are his ‘squares’ - a large series concerned with the meditative potential offered by the interplay of colours through simple geometric forms. Reddish and Grey and Cobalt Green and Cadmium Green, 1958 is typical of this series and Albers interest in the study of perception.
French born Louise Bourgeois is recognised as one of the pioneering artists of the twentieth century in her use of materials such as latex and plaster. Her practise includes sculpture, installations, works and paper and multiple prints such as work included in this exhibition. Her work is both beautiful yet disturbing and has been hugely influential on a new generation of artists.
Donald Judd is well known for his obsessively paired back sculpture and furniture. During the early 1960s he began making sculptures-boxes, ramps, and open geometric objects-many of them painted his favourite colour - cadmium light red. His precisely made cubic and rectilinear works were instrumental in setting a new course for American sculpture and eventually established him as a leading figure in the Minimal Art movement.
Likewise German painter Gunther Forg is known for his minimalism, yet works are at the same time expressive. Brushstrokes are clearly visible – the instinctive touch and subtle handling of the paint reflecting Forg’s rapid fluid method of working within the constraints of geometrical designs.
