Aspen Institute Designer Herbert Bayer in "Convolutions"

Herbert Bayer, seven convolutions, lithograph, 1948 (image source).

In the first exhibition of the “Raiding the Crates” series, Convolutions is a visual exploration of the ambiguity of perception and its ability to hop between the tangible and intangible worlds. The title comes from Herbert Bayer’s sequence of seven lithographs that represent the perpetual vigor of elemental forms in nature. Time, space, light, memory, and material (both natural and industrial) influence the artists' process to suggest universal experiences that are felt as well as seen.

Herbert Bayer in the 1940s holding a piece from the FAC Collection.

Bayer was instrumental in bringing European Modernism to Colorado. He was born in Austria and studied art, design, photography and architecture at the Bauhaus in Germany. There, he studied under instructors such as Wassily Kandinsky and László Moholy-Nagy.  He later became the director of printing and advertising at the Bauhaus, and created his renowned all lower-case, sans-serif typeface.
After 1946, Bayer settled in Aspen, Colorado, where he became well-known for design work for the Aspen Institute and for the ski industry. The Herbert Bayer collection and archives is located at the Denver Art Museum.

Bayer had a brief connection to the FAC in 1948 when he worked on his seven convolutions portfolio with master lithographer Lawrence Barrett. He was also a lecturer at the FAC’s Conference on the Fine Arts that same year. All seven of Bayer's prints are on display as part of Convolutions.

Bayer’s Bauhaus-inspired architecture for the Health Center and Gym at the Aspen Institute (image source).

Bauhaus-style bike (image source).

Bayer’s design for the Aspen Institute (image source).

Raiding the Crates is an ongoing permanent collection exhibition series intended to follow exciting grooves in the collection and spin new experiences with a spectrum of artists, ideas, styles, and media. Permanent collection works presented in Convolutions were chosen in response to the upcoming James Turrell and Scott Johnson exhibitions.

Convolutions
Closing Nov. 4

James Turrell | Trace Elements: Light into Space
Scott Johnson | Places Apart

July 14 – Sept. 30