Richard Tuttle / Drawing Groups

December 10, 2015 to April 2, 2016

It is seldom that an artist”s relationship with a gallery endures over forty-one years, marked by sustained vitality and intensity. In our case, the extraordinary and unusual artist personality Richard Tuttle has enabled a fascinating shared path and afforded abundant inspiration and stimulation. His artistic work eludes foreseeable categorizations and resists habit and habituation.

From May 17 to June 28, 1974, the “Heavy Wire Pieces” were exhibited in our gallery at the time on Mühlegasse, or more precisely, the works took up the possibilities of these spaces and over a period of weeks there arose a very special, self-evident connection and correspondence between the group of works and the autonomous individual pieces. This initial exhibition of Richard Tuttle in our gallery remained the model for the many exhibitions to follow here and at our other gallery locations.

The year 1976 deserves recognition as a milestone of special importance in our working relationship with Richard Tuttle. Richard entrusted us to administer 289 drawings produced from 1968 to 1976. He made this decision following our visit in New York. In his small apartment, which also served as his studio, drawings hung from the walls and lay on the floor. The profusion and chaos illustrated how drawing incessantly engaged and occupied him (as has remained the case to the present day) in the studio and on his many extended travels – and it demonstrated how drawing functioned as the veritable epicenter of the artistic process. The high regard for the drawings, but also the wear and tear and endangerment to which they were exposed, led Richard to hand over the entire contents of his studio. Shortly before the end of the year, we reviewed and ordered the sheets together with the artist in Zurich and put together the “List of Drawing Material of Richard Tuttle”, which was reproduced and made accessible to a small circle of individuals in January 1977. Each work was precisely described, and the year of creation, technique, dimensions were recorded. For the “Center Point Works” starting in 1975, it was apparent that further precise stipulations were necessary: “Center point drawings to be placed in center of wall at a specified point (height), using a specified means of hanging.”

The in-depth investigation of the drawings we were able to undertake with Richard Tuttle made clear that this was a unique graphic oeuvre, with its own rules, own forms, own conventions.

The indefatigable art critic Dr. Maria Netter arranged the exhibition of 100 works selected from the bundle of drawings at the Kunsthalle in Basel. Organized at short notice, the show took place from June 11 to September 11, 1977. A small catalogue was printed and the impressive exhibition was well received. In early 1979, the book “List of Drawing Material of Richard Tuttle & Appendices” was published. It contains full-page reproductions of all the drawings with detailed information about each work, a reprint of the list from 1977 and interesting supplementary texts. To this day, the book continues to be the standard reference work on the genesis of Tuttle drawings.

In compiling the list and putting together the book, it became evident that, apart from a number of distinctive and in most cases early works that did not fit this pattern, a certain starting situation could be observed that gives structure to the oeuvre. The drawings are combined in smaller or larger groups, often given a joint title, sometimes described as a “series”. They never consisted of sketches or preliminary drafts. The respective drawing pad or sketchbook determines the size and characteristics of the paper, but also the progression and the sequences of the drawing activity. This acts like a receptacle, evoking space, depth and time and enabling the drawings to collectively achieve a shared resonance and a captivating self-generated coherence.

To this day, Richard Tuttle has carried forth his drawing work in this manner. Special attention is given to the framing and presentation of the groups of drawings. Small units give rise to works of stature. Significant examples from the past years are on view in our exhibition, as a remembrance of a piece of our gallery’s history.

On January 21, 2016, we will present the new book “Agnes Martin Religion of Love Richard Tuttle Illustration” with a reading in the gallery. More details on this event will follow.

Installation views

Installation view room 1

Installation view room 2

Installation view room 3

Installation view office room

Installation view room 4

Installation view office room

Works

Division # III – 7/5/2/1
Division # II – 5/4/2
Division # I – 6/4/3

Division # III – 7 RT’14
2014
22 x 31 cm
Pencil, colored crayon and watercolor on paper

Division # III – 5 RT’14
2014
22 x 31 cm
Pencil, colored crayon and watercolor on paper

Division # III – 2 RT’14
2014
22 x 31 cm
Pencil, colored crayon and watercolor on paper

Division # III – 1 RT’14
2014
22 x 31 cm
Pencil, colored crayon and watercolor on paper

Division # II – 5 RT’14
2014
22 x 31 cm
Pencil, colored crayon and watercolor on paper

Division # II – 4 RT’14
2014
22 x 31 cm
Pencil, colored crayon and watercolor on paper

Division # II – 2 RT’14
2014
22 x 31 cm
Pencil, colored crayon and watercolor on paper

Division # I – 6 RT’14
2014
22 x 31 cm
Pencil, colored crayon and watercolor on paper

Division # I – 4 RT’14
2014
22 x 31 cm
Pencil, colored crayon and watercolor on paper

Division # I – 3 RT’14
2014
22 x 31 cm
Pencil, colored crayon and watercolor on paper

Grey Bar
1974
35.6 x 28 cm
pencil and watercolor on paper

Title IV for wall
1978
74.9 x 56.5 cm
pencil and watercolor on paper collage

Title V for wall
1978
74.9 x 56.5 cm
pencil and watercolor on paper collage

Indoor Outdoor (1-4)
2012
29.8 x 84 cm
acrylic on paper

Fake Gold No. 1/2/3/5/6/7
2015
each 43 x 34.5 cm / 34.5 x 43 cm
pastel and pencil on paper

Fake Gold No. 1
2015
each 43 x 34.5 cm / 34.5 x 43 cm
pastel and pencil on paper

Fake Gold No. 2
2015
each 43 x 34.5 cm / 34.5 x 43 cm
pastel and pencil on paper

Fake Gold No. 3
2015
each 43 x 34.5 cm / 34.5 x 43 cm
pastel and pencil on paper

Fake Gold No. 5
2015
each 43 x 34.5 cm / 34.5 x 43 cm
pastel and pencil on paper

Fake Gold No. 6
2015
each 43 x 34.5 cm / 34.5 x 43 cm
pastel and pencil on paper

Fake Gold No. 7
2015
each 43 x 34.5 cm / 34.5 x 43 cm
pastel and pencil on paper

Three Part, No. 1-3
2012
paper, each: 35.6 x 28 cm
framed, each: 40.7 x 33.8 cm
mixed media on paper

The Intention I-VIII
2015
each 21 x 16.2 cm
mixed media on paper

The Intention I
2015
each 21 x 16.2 cm
mixed media on paper

The Intention II
2015
each 21 x 16.2 cm
mixed media on paper

The Intention III
2015
each 21 x 16.2 cm
mixed media on paper

The Intention IV
2015
each 21 x 16.2 cm
mixed media on paper

The Intention V
2015
each 21 x 16.2 cm
mixed media on paper

The Intention VI
2015
each 21 x 16.2 cm
mixed media on paper

The Intention VII
2015
each 21 x 16.2 cm
mixed media on paper

The Intention VIII
2015
each 21 x 16.2 cm
mixed media on paper

Richard Tuttle / Listening into Fire 2008 9 parts, each 30.5x 38.1 cm overall: 92 x 115 cm pencil, colored pencil, acrylic and collage on paper with framing line in blue

Listening into Fire
2008
9 parts, each 30.5x 38.1 cm
overall: 92 x 115 cm
pencil, colored pencil, acrylic and collage on paper with framing line in blue

Poem
2010
10 parts, each 34.5 x 26.5 x 2.5 cm
paper: 30.6 x 22.8 cm
pencil and color pencil on paper

Rest on the Flight to Egypt
2009
29.5 x 82.5 cm
watercolor, acrylic, graphite and goldleaf on paper on cardboard
(in artists frame)