Craig Kauffman (1932 - 2010) came to prominence in Los Angeles in the 1960s, combining the latest industrial processes with a wide-ranging knowledge of European art history to produce innovative forms in sensuous colours and materials specific to his milieu. Simultaneously influenced by Duchamp and Picabia, he explored biomorphic forms and used mechanical processes. Kauffman has been associated with critical groupings such as Finish Fetish and Light and Space, although his work precedes those categories and substantially transcends their limitations.
For the 2017 edition of Frieze Masters, Sprüth Magers will present a selection of early works on paper that trace the development of Craig Kauffman's formal vocabulary. Borrowing shapes from commercial magazines, the increasingly abstracted designs incorporate underwear bursting at the seams, perilous high heels and isolated sections of an erotically charged female form. These works from the 1960s examine diagrammatic and fragmented abstract feminine shapes as a precursor to his later works with Plexiglas and three-dimensional wall-works that are also part of the presentation.
After the forms underwent subsequent degrees of abstraction, his plastic works evolved in a similar vein: experimenting with acrylic lacquer applied to the back of clear plastic. The use of color incorporates both saccharine primary colors, seemingly fresh out of the can, and hues more akin to skin tones. His first experiments in vacuum forming then took place in 1964, making use of a commercial process that was still in its infancy, to add literal depth to some of his bulbous two- dimensional forms.
Opening Days
Invitation-only Preview:
Wednesday 4 October
Open days:
Thursday 5 October (Premium Day) to Sunday 8 October