In the universe. His extraordinary body of work comprises drawings, drypoints, installations, performances and films. For Lutz, breaking into alien, mysterious mindscapes with his works was a primary concern. The exhibition presents the sketch, the film scripts, the film props, the autonomous drawings and the drypoints, through to the sophisticated 16 mm films, some of which were projected by the artist onto inflated balloons.
Museum Haus Konstruktiv is delighted to present the oeuvre of the artist Klaus Lutz to a broad public. In
1993, Lutz (born 1940 in St. Gallen) relocated to New York, where he lived until his death in the year 2009.
His extraordinary body of work comprises drawings, drypoints, installations, performances and films. The
exhibition is a result of cooperation with the “Verein für die Erhaltung des Werkes von Klaus Lutz”
(Association for the Preservation of the Work of Klaus Lutz).
On 11 July, a comprehensive publication shall be released by the publisher Kehrer Verlag.
Anyone seeing Lutz’s films for the first time will immediately be fascinated by them. Lutz’s cinematic language is
unique, yet at the same time it conjures up memories: of 1920s expressionist film, of Georges Méliès, or of the
Russion avant-garde’s agitprop films.
For Klaus Lutz, the artistic process has always begun with the drawing. From 1985 onward, filmmaking comes in
as well. Here, he goes back to the16 mm film camera, which already seems almost nostalgic in the age of digital
images and animations. By means of animation and traditional film collage techniques, Lutz created highly
outlandish and aesthetically strong works. In his film scripts, he developed lively stories, in which the individual
(the artist himself) always takes on the rest of the world.
For Lutz, breaking into alien, mysterious mindscapes with his works was a primary concern. He was a sketch
provider, lead actor and director combined, he was the camera operator, the editor and ultimately also the designer
and author of all his communication media, such as invitations, posters and flyers.
Museum Haus Konstruktiv is now exhibiting the full diversity of Klaus Lutz’s fascinating oeuvre and presenting all
facets of his work on three floors: from the sketch to the film scripts, to the film props, to the autonomous drawings
and the drypoints, through to the sophisticated 16 mm films, some of which
were projected by the artist onto inflated balloons.
In addition, the visitors can immerse themselves in the universe of Klaus Lutz: immediately after Lutz’s unexpected
death in New York, Hans Danuser, artist and close friend of Lutz, photographed Lutz’s apartment, which had been
converted into a film studio and an experimental laboratory for ideas.
These photographs, mounted directly on the wall in the exhibition, provide a moving insight into the artistic and
private cosmos of Klaus Lutz’s life. We are also presenting the documentary film “The Beauty of My Island –
Shooting Klaus Lutz”, realized by filmmaker Frank Matter in 1999.
Image: Arabia, 1991, 16mm film still
Press office:
Esther Quetting T +44 2177080 e.quetting@hauskonstruktiv.ch
Exhibition opening: 30 May, 6 pm
Museum Haus Konstruktiv
Selnaustrasse 25, 8001 Zurich
Hours:
Tue - Thur, Fri 12am to 6pm
Wed 12am to 8pm
Sat, Sun 11am to 6pm
Mon closed
Admission
Adult CHF 14.00
Reduction CHF 10.00
Children aged 7-16 CHF 5.00
under 7 free