'Abstract, Cream and Rose, 1963' by Kurt Weber, Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris, Swiss

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Description

Signed lower right, 'Kurt Weber' for Kurt Oscar Weber (Swiss-American, 1938-2011); additionally dated, verso, May 1963, and signed.
Framed dimensions: … Read more Signed lower right, 'Kurt Weber' for Kurt Oscar Weber (Swiss-American, 1938-2011); additionally dated, verso, May 1963, and signed.
Framed dimensions: 46 H x 1.5 D x 58.5 W inches.

A substantial oil showing circular forms in cream and rose contrasted against a variegated ink blue ground. Artist and sculptor Kurt Oscar Weber worked in multiple styles including German Expressionism, Abstract Expressionism and Color Field, developing a personal style that combined lyrical abstracts and soft color palette.

Born in Zurich, Kurt Oscar Weber first attended Zurich's Kunstgewerbeschule (1955-58) before moving to Paris, where he furthered his education at the Académie d’Art in Montparnasse with André Lhôte (1959). Here, he studied both sculpture and painting with Lhôte who became a significant influence on Weber’s emerging talent.

Weber subsequently traveled to Italy where he studied the fresco techniques of the Renaissance masters including Andrea Mantegna, Caravaggio, Pierro Della Francesca, and Fra Angelica. Following this period in Italy, Weber moved to Salzburg, where he studied with Oskar Kokoschka, and to Zurich, where he attended the École des Beaux-Arts, before returning to Paris where he continued his studies at the Académie de la Peinture et de Sculpture.

As Weber's interest in print media developed, he also studied lithography and etching (1963) at Atelier 17 with the American graphic artist, Stanley Hayter. The art historian, Andrin Schütz, observed that Weber's conscious integration of his knowledge of eclectic art styles and techniques into the practical application of his own art creation.

The burgeoning cultural and counter-cultural atmosphere of Paris during the early 1960s also had a strong influence on Weber as he was drawn into the growing environment of Existentialism. It was at this time that Weber met Jean-Paul Sartre, Pablo Picasso and Fernand Léger. However, the greatest influence on his art-philosophical outlook was his compatriot and friend, Alberto Giacometti. It was Giacometti, who advised and inspired Weber to develop his own artistic style and mode of expression. This led him to develop new techniques and painting processes. In 1964, encouraged by Giacometti, Weber traveled to New York, which had, by then, become the nexus of the world's avant-garde movement.

While he was intrigued by the intuitive expression of the New York School, he was simultaneously drawn to the historic monuments of the Mayas and the Aztecs and this led him to begin regular visits to Mexico. It was these two influences - the breadth and spatiality of American abstract painting combined with the vibrant palette of indigenous Mexican art, that coalesced in Weber’s foundational style.

In 1968, he moved to the US and, with his wife, the artist, Colette Leitner, began a 13-year adventure exploring the country. In 1970, he became a US- Swiss citizen. During this period of travel, he continued to build his portfolio and, in 1981, Weber set up his first formal studio in Emeryville, California. It was in the San Francisco Bay Area that he began to create his large-format images. While maintaining this studio in California, he continued to travel regularly to Paris and Switzerland.

At the time of his death, Weber had developed a painting process which allowed brilliant inks and pigments to adhere to a foundation of translucent vellum. The artist's last collective series demonstrated his perfection of this novel technique, which he titled 'Clusters'. In 2012, a retrospective of Weber's work from 1960-2009, was presented at the Sammlung Gallerie S/Z in Zurich. A second retrospective of the artist's work, entitled ‘Remember’, was held the same year at the Galerie Lilian Andrée, Riehen, Switzerland.

Solo exhibitions:
1965: Workshop Gallery, Studio East, New York;
1971: Valley House Gallery, Dallas, Texas;
1981: Retrospektive in der Galerie Inter Art Basel, Switzerland;
1985: Galerie Stella Polaris, Los Angeles, California;
1986: Galerie Hatley Martin, San Francisco, California;
1988: Galerie Hatley Martin, San Francisco, California;
1991: Galerie et Edition Lilian Andrée, Basel, Switzerland;
1992: Galerie Hilt, Basel, Switzerland;
1994: Centre d'Art d'Ivry, Galerie Fernand Léger, Paris;
1995: Galerie Marie-Louise Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland;
1999: Kurt Weber: Retrospective, Le Coq Rouge, Lörrach, Germany;
2002: Galerie Lilian Andrée, Basel, Switzerland;
2004: Ambassade Suisse, Paris;
2005: Galerie Lilian Andrée, Basel, Switzerland;
2009, 2010: Sammlung Galerie S/Z, Zurich, Switzerland.

Selected group exhibitions:
1962: Salon de Mai, Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris;
1963: Salon de la jeune Peinture, Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris;
1973: Galerie Troup, Texas;
1986: First Emeryville Annual, San Francisco, California;
1989: The Western National Annual, The Brooklyn Museum, New York;
2000: Yellow: The First Color, Bedford Gallery, San Francisco, California;
2003: Galerie Darthea Speyer, Paris, France.

Reference:
Benezit Dictionary of Artists, archived online 2011, Oxford University Press; 14ème Salon de la Jeune Peinture. Catalogue de l'exposition, Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris, 1963; "A Swiss Painter in America", Basler Zeitung, Basel, Switzerland, 1981; Kurt Weber at Hatley Martin, San Francisco, Clifford Schwartz, 1986; Kurt Weber at Lilian Andrée, Basel, Switzerland; Siegmar Gassert, 1991; Transitions-California-Basel Doppelpunkt (Revue d'Art), Exposition Galerie Hilt, Basel, Switzerland, 1992; Catalogue de l'exposition à la Galerie Fernand Léger, Ivry sur Seine. Cimaise, Revue d'Art, Paris, 1993; Pierre-Marc-Levengeois: Kurt Weber, "The Palimpsest ofCities". Le Nouveau Quotidien,Lausanne, Suisse, Laurent Wolf: "Kurt Weber, L'Homme qui va là où est la Peinture". Radio France Internationale, Allemagne. Arts plastique: Ironieet dérision, Ville d'Ivry: Actualité Culture; Frank, Peter. Kurt Weber, Paintings, SMI: Centre d'Art d'Ivry, 1994; Autour de Mark Tobey, Art contemporain, Kurt Weber, 2003; Pariscope, Kurt Weber à l'Ambassade de Suisse, Paris, Peintures récentes. Kunstbulletin, April 2004, Suisse, Kurt Weber à l'Ambassade de Suisse, Paris, 2004. See less