Art by Design The Elmhurst Art Museum's Richard Koppe exhibition sets the context for Clef Notes' examination of the real artistry behind fashion design. By LAURA KINTER
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Photos By KRZYSTOF HANUSIAK
With the help of the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Elmhurst Art Museum, just west of the city, is currently exhibiting some rarely seen works by Mid-century Modern artist Richard Koppe. On display are paintings, prints and drawings that give a glimpse into
throughout his body of work with the swooping, ascendant curves of his lines and painterly gestures, as well as his repeated use of winged creatures such as birds and angels. His body of work in the late 1950s alludes to space flight and exploration as well as the robotic forms of his large paintings of heads from the early 1960s.” Richard Koppe has participated in the interior design of spaces, the illustration of aeronauKoppe’s fascination with tical engineering figures line and color, composition and has created an impresand space. His exploration of sive collection of sculpcubism and surrealism protures. His interest in the duced both playful and intrithree dimensional is no secate works, and his mastery cret, and “he often strived of diverse media transcended to create an effect of three that playfulness across madimensions in his two diterial boundaries. What you mensional work, and often can’t see at the Elmhurst Art made somewhat flat sculpMuseum, however, is the tures that created more of a carefully curated photoshoot 2D effect in three dimenClef Notes Journal commissions,” notes Boris. This sioned with Staci Boris, cubalance in Koppe’s work rator of the Koppe exhibit, is precisely what lends it and several Chicago fashion so perfectly to a relationdesigners. The project was ship with design. His work devised to put Koppe’s works shares so many design elin conversation with speements with garments secifically selected garments, lected for this project that adding another dimension to it helps illuminate the ofthe context of his art, and in ten overlooked comparison turn, examining the more arbetween art and fashion tistic elements employed in design. modern commercial fashion Chicago designer design. Annie Andrews, of Annie Criss-Cross Tunis (Sienna/Melon) The Koppe exhibition is A. Clothing, constantly Rayon (Silk detail) supremely well suited to such strives for balance within Price: $240.00 an examination, actually. her garments: balance in Design permeated Koppe’s color, line, and balance Pencil Skirt (Melon) 4-ply Silk life and artistic career. His between masculine and Cost: $160.00 fascination began at St. feminine. And as such, Paul’s School of Art, where her pieces dovetail quite Annie A. Clothing he immersed himself in line, naturally with several of (annieaclothing.com) shape, and color. His educaKoppe’s works. Available at locallux.com tion carried him to the New The brown Criss-Cross Set against Richard Koppe's Tunic from her autumn Bauhaus School in Chicago, Forest Figures (1949, ink on pawhere his professors integrat2014 collection, for inper), Richard Koppe exhibition, ed visual art, technology and stance, utilizes the same Elmhurst Art Museum. industrial design. Bauhaus graphic contrast as seen tailored Koppe’s education in Koppe’s Forest Figures by combining his visual art (1949, ink on paper), which courses with intense classes depicts three imaginary in math and science, giving figures in white on a black birth to Koppe’s interest in background. Andrews sees machinery, engineering and flight. Exhibit curator Staci Boris ex- a continuity in balance with masculine and feminine aspects between plains: “One can discern (Koppe’s) interest in flight and machinery the tunic and the painting. The figures Koppe depicts here are threatWinter 2015CNCJA•33