Hans Richter: Encounters

Recognized for his contributions to twentieth century modernism, Expressionism, Dadaism, Constructivism, Surrealism, and to avant-garde
film, is the versatile German artist, painter, filmmaker, and writer, Hans Richter.

In its debut at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Hans Richter: Encounters is a multidisciplinary exhibit based on 10 chronological, creative encounters between Richter and his fellow artists, filmmakers, writers, and composers, such as Hans Arp, John Cage, Marcel Duchamp, Sergei Eisenstein, and Kazimir Malevich.

The exhibit spans Richter's 50 year career, showcasing 175 of Richter's works along with approximately 60 works by his contemporaries, including drawings, paintings, sculptures, scrolls, photographs, architectural models, ready-mades, wall reliefs, and films, set in the backdrop of Frederick Fisher and Partners Architects’ design.

Opening with Richter's early career of abstract portraits is a series of distinctive and engaging black and white caricatures, among which the oldest piece, Flötisten (1911-15) is featured.

Additional highlights include the historically relevant Battle of Stalingrad (1943-44), a colorful mural made of actual WWII newspaper clippings, as well as Fuge 23 (1923/1976) where, on one page, themes are developed together emulating musical counterpoints.

Most notable of Richter’s art forms and media transformations, is the crossing of art and film. Scrolls of visual shapes, evolving over time, were created, giving rise to the first abstract film ever made, Rhythmus 21 (1921). It is a silent black and white short where square and rectangle forms in different sizes move rhythmically creating a subversion of cinematic illusion of depth. Richter's Orchestration of Colors (Orchestration der Farben, 1923/1970) is another vertical scroll to be used for film.

Juxtaposing photography and moving images is a 3-D special interactive

reality portion of the exhibit, by artists John Craig Freeman and Will Pappenheimer, recreated in the design of the Russian Room, the 1929 Stuttgart modern art landmark, and site of the Film und Foto (FIFO) exhibition where Hans Richter served as a film curator. FIFO emphasized the role of film as a new art form, and was one of the first exhibitions to showcase the use of photography in publicity, media, and graphic design. LACMA visitors would enjoy moving the ipads on the stand and explore their new juxtaposed surroundings.

Encounters offers plenty, and draws from Richter's creative spirit.

The exhibit runs through September 2, 2013, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion, located at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036. For more information call (323) 857-6000 or visit www.lacma.org