Art The Zurich Concretists Lohse and Graeser presented in Basel
These are pixel paintings from the pre-electronic age: the Zurich Concretists radically developed abstraction in painting into a geometric formal language. Two of their main representatives, Richard Paul Lohse and Camille Graeser, can be seen in Basel galleries.
27.02.2025, 12:16
SDA
"Lohse's work marks the end of the European compositional tradition, a good end - and it is also the beginning of much that is only just beginning to develop." This is how the great American star of minimalism, Donald Judd, described the work of Zurich artist Richard Paul Lohse (1902-1988) in 1988, whose work he obviously held in high esteem.
What Judd meant by these words can be seen at the new Basel branch of Galerie Hauser & Wirth until April 26. With mathematical precision, the trained graphic artist and typographer has arranged brightly colored squares and rectangular shapes into serial and contemplative pictorial compositions.
The result is visually vibrant images that are characterized by the expressive power of color. Unlike great role models such as Mondrian, Lohse did not work intuitively, but proceeded meticulously and mathematically, as can be seen from the sketches for the paintings.
This also applies to Camille Graeser (1892-1980). Alongside Lohse, Max Bill and Verena Loewensberg, he was one of the main representatives of the Zurich School of Concrete Art, which spread far beyond Zurich's borders. From March 28 to May 17, Basel's Galerie von Bartha is presenting a selection of works by the artist, who was regarded as the movement's quietest representative.
Once omnipresent artist
It is a coincidence that two Basel galleries are presenting art by the Zurich Concretists at the same time. However, both gallery owners told the Keystone-SDA news agency that it was a stroke of luck. The time has come to show the once omnipresent artists to a new generation, says Carlo Knöll, head of the Hauser & Wirth branch in Basel. And Stefan von Bartha from the gallery of the same name emphasizes that the combination of the two exhibitions shows how multifaceted this art movement is.
The series of presentations of Zurich Concretists continues: on Tuesday, an exhibition of works by Verena Loewensberg opened at the London branch of Hauser & Wirth. And from September 7, the Museo d'arte della Svizzera italiana (MASI) in Lugano will present a major retrospective of the work of Richard Paul Lohse.
