“As a collector of [Johann Christian] Reinhart’s work, I am aware how he is seen as a transitional figure between the light of the Enlightenment and the dark of Romanticism,” Richard Tuttle writes in the Reinhart exhibition catalogue essay he wrote for the show (discussed yesterday here) at Pocket Utopia.
Richard Tuttle, Air in Water,
2012. Drawing element: metallic acrylic paint and graphite on acid free
bond paper
sculptural element: bass wood, nylon stocking, paverpol and paverplast
paint, 58-1/2 x 18-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches, overall
installation dimensions
drawing element: 9 x 6 inches; sculptural element: 3-1/4 x 1-3/4 x 4 inches.
2012. Drawing element: metallic acrylic paint and graphite on acid free
bond paper
sculptural element: bass wood, nylon stocking, paverpol and paverplast
paint, 58-1/2 x 18-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches, overall
installation dimensions
drawing element: 9 x 6 inches; sculptural element: 3-1/4 x 1-3/4 x 4 inches.
“[Reinhart] is not often included among the early Romantics although I think I
have proven that, through his concerns, he should be. Like theirs, his
work can be viewed as just pretty pictures, though he established that a
pretty picture can also be used symbolically–a position no self-respecting Romantic ever completely abandoned as another way of seeing
their art. In Reinhart’s case (as in all cases, really) the prettiness
of the picture floats on the fashions of the times, while it’s symbolic
value is eternal.
have proven that, through his concerns, he should be. Like theirs, his
work can be viewed as just pretty pictures, though he established that a
pretty picture can also be used symbolically–a position no self-respecting Romantic ever completely abandoned as another way of seeing
their art. In Reinhart’s case (as in all cases, really) the prettiness
of the picture floats on the fashions of the times, while it’s symbolic
value is eternal.
“It is–truly–a happy moment when the two, fashion and eternity, come together!”
Johann Christian Reinhart, Aricia, 1793, etching.
“Richard Tuttle: The Reinhart Project,” Pocket Utopia, Lower East Side, New York, NY. Through June 9, 2013.
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Related posts:
Part I: Curated by Richard Tuttle?? Yes.
