R.B. Kitaj: Collages and Prints, 1964-1975
L.A. Louver is pleased to present an exhibition of collages and related prints by R.B. Kitaj (American, 1932 2007).
Kitaj used fragmented figuration and repetition to tell stories and develop narratives in his work. A self proclaimed bibliomaniac; prodigious reader and writer; inspired by art historians Aby Warburg, Erwin Panofsky and Fritz Saxl, Kitaj sought to investigate relationships between content and iconography, and image and word through layered compositions. The technique of collage offered the most immediate expression of this impulse, one in which he combined his own drawing with found images and text. In turn, the collages formed the basis of his prints. While Kitaj鈥檚 prints have been seen widely over the past five decades, this exhibition is the first time the artist鈥檚 collages are on public view. Both collages and prints span the 12-year period from 1964 to 1975. They include works Kitaj made immediately following his graduation from the Royal College of Art; while living in the United States, teaching at Berkeley (1967-68) and UCLA (1969-71), and afterwards when he returned to Londo. Around 1962 Eduardo Paolozzi introduced Kitaj to the printer Chris Prater, who ran Kelpra Studio in London. Prater, who trained as a commercial printer, had recently begun to make fine art screen prints with artists who were emerging at the time, including Patrick Caulfield, Richard Hamilton and Bridget Riley, as well as Paolozzi himself. Screen printing involves a stencil that is either hand cut and attached to a woven mesh screen, or photographically transferred to the screen, blocking it in some places, leaving it open in others. Ink is then forced with a rubber blade through the open areas of the mesh into the paper below. The technique allows artists to work quickly and offers a wide spectrum of both bold and subtle colors.
Collaging gave Kitaj the freedom to explore a wide and diverse range of interests including poetry, literature, music, art and film. It allowed him to pursue the arcane and offbeat, and the results showcase his evident delight in creating obtuse juxtapositions that appear as visuals puzzles asking to be decoded.
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L.A. Louver is pleased to present an exhibition of collages and related prints by R.B. Kitaj (American, 1932 2007).
Kitaj used fragmented figuration and repetition to tell stories and develop narratives in his work. A self proclaimed bibliomaniac; prodigious reader and writer; inspired by art historians Aby Warburg, Erwin Panofsky and Fritz Saxl, Kitaj sought to investigate relationships between content and iconography, and image and word through layered compositions. The technique of collage offered the most immediate expression of this impulse, one in which he combined his own drawing with found images and text. In turn, the collages formed the basis of his prints. While Kitaj鈥檚 prints have been seen widely over the past five decades, this exhibition is the first time the artist鈥檚 collages are on public view. Both collages and prints span the 12-year period from 1964 to 1975. They include works Kitaj made immediately following his graduation from the Royal College of Art; while living in the United States, teaching at Berkeley (1967-68) and UCLA (1969-71), and afterwards when he returned to Londo. Around 1962 Eduardo Paolozzi introduced Kitaj to the printer Chris Prater, who ran Kelpra Studio in London. Prater, who trained as a commercial printer, had recently begun to make fine art screen prints with artists who were emerging at the time, including Patrick Caulfield, Richard Hamilton and Bridget Riley, as well as Paolozzi himself. Screen printing involves a stencil that is either hand cut and attached to a woven mesh screen, or photographically transferred to the screen, blocking it in some places, leaving it open in others. Ink is then forced with a rubber blade through the open areas of the mesh into the paper below. The technique allows artists to work quickly and offers a wide spectrum of both bold and subtle colors.
Collaging gave Kitaj the freedom to explore a wide and diverse range of interests including poetry, literature, music, art and film. It allowed him to pursue the arcane and offbeat, and the results showcase his evident delight in creating obtuse juxtapositions that appear as visuals puzzles asking to be decoded.
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