Paul Uwe Dreyer (1939-2008) - Klappschnitt

Paul Uwe Dreyer: Klappschnitt (1977), from La Lune en Rodage III

A signed graphic work by Paul Uwe Dreyer, one of the leading figures of German Concrete art, created for the third and final volume of La Lune en Rodage — the editioned anthology of post-war and avant-garde art assembled by Carl Laszlo and published by Edition Panderma in Basel.

Klappschnitt — a "folded section" — names its own principle. Flat geometric planes are set against one another so that the two-dimensional sheet begins to read as folded, interpenetrating space: a surface that tilts, hinges and opens without ever abandoning the picture plane. This concern with the diagonal, with spatial folding, and with the disciplined variation of a single ordering idea runs through Dreyer's entire body of work and marks his particular place within the concrete-constructive tradition, alongside Josef Albers and Max Bill.

La Lune en Rodage appeared in three volumes (1960, 1965, 1977), gathering roughly 180 works that trace the European avant-garde from the 1950s to the 1970s. Across its volumes Carl Laszlo brought together figures such as Lucio Fontana, Victor Vasarely, Piero Manzoni and Enrico Castellani; Dreyer's contribution belongs to the closing volume of 1977.

In good condition, with some age-related spotting to the paper in the lower left area; otherwise sound. As one of the 65 hors-commerce copies, it was issued unnumbered.

Title: Klappschnitt
Year: published 1977
Technique: Silkscreen and etching (mixed media) on card
Edition: Total edition of 230; 65 hors-commerce copies issued unnumbered. This is an unnumbered hors-commerce copy.
Signature: Hand-signed
Dimensions: 22 × 17 cm (work); 32 × 32 × 3 cm including beech-wood frame
Condition: Good; some age-related spotting to the lower left
Publisher: Edition Panderma (Carl Laszlo), Basel
Provenance: Edition Panderma (Carl Laszlo), Basel — Galerie von Bartha, Basel — Private collection, Basel

Paul Uwe Dreyer (1939 Osnabrück – 2008 Stuttgart) was a German painter, draughtsman and printmaker of Concrete art. He studied at the Werkkunstschule Hannover and the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Berlin, and in 1970 received the Rome Prize with a residency at the Villa Massimo. For more than three decades he was Professor of Painting at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart, serving twice as its Rector (1987–1991 and 1998–2004), and chaired the board of the Deutscher Künstlerbund from 1992 to 1997. His work is held in public collections including the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart and the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, and is documented in a catalogue raisonné of his paintings, drawings and prints.