‘Schwitters Miró Arp’

Los Angeles… Beginning 16 October, Hauser Wirth & Schimmel will present a comprehensive exhibition of the renowned Dadaists Kurt Schwitters (1887 – 1948) and Hans Arp (1886 – 1966), in the context of works by the Spanish painter, graphic artist and sculptor Joan Miró (1893 – 1983). ‘Schwitters Miró Arp’ was first curated for Hauser & Wirth Zürich in Summer 2016 to celebrate the centenary of the Dada movement in the city of its birth. The new iteration of this group show will include a significant addition of works by Hans Arp – the first large-scale treatment of works by Arp in Los Angeles.

On view through 8 January 2017, ‘Schwitters Miró Arp’ is dedicated to the re-evaluation and rediscovery of three fascinating figures who instigated a material language that continues to inform contemporary art today. From the turn of the century, this trio of artists was united by the impulse to renew and transform artistic expression. Building on the achievements of Cubism, they pursued this goal through experimentation with collage and assemblage, generating radical new ideas to confront a Europe characterised by the catastrophe of war.

Comprising over 90 key works from American and European museums and major international private collections, the exhibition offers fresh perspectives on Schwitters, Miró and Arp, as well as deeper insights into the movements of Dada and Surrealism. ‘Schwitters Miró Arp’ also calls to mind the special role that Los Angeles played as a generative hub for European artists – and particularly Surrealists – in the 1920s and 1930s. A local German emigré network of creative luminaries (known as ‘Weimar on the Pacific’) advanced European ideas across music, theatre, and film in Los Angeles. Walter and Louise Arensberg, avid collectors and early patrons of Dada and Surrealist artists, fostered a mutually supportive community in Los Angeles, opening their prized art collection to any visitor who inquired.

 

Hauser Wirth & Schimmel (press release)