Transition

John von Wicht

In the late 1940s Von Wicht was known for his geometric cubist works, particularly influenced by Kandinsky and the work he had seen as a young man in Germany. After moving to the US he worked in the WPA and exhibited with the American Abstract Artists group. During the 1950s, his sensuously colored geometric abstractions gave way to loose, expressionistic forms.

This lithograph uses an interplay, a transition, between forms and color, a composition of geometric shapes that seem to dance on the surface and anticipates his later gestural Abstract Expressionist work. Von Wicht printed a second edition of this print in black and white. Both editions were printed collaborating with Master Printer Bob Blackburn.

Abstract prints were not well accepted in the 1950s and von Wicht, like many of his contemporaries, did not print large editions, in this case only 10 impressions. The artist's motivation was the exploration of the medium rather than creating a commerical "success".

In 1949 Von Wicht and Will Barnett helped Blackburn, who was the Master Printer at the Art Students League, open his own printshop in New York. The rest is print world history.