Leo Leuppi

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Leo Leuppi (born June 28, 1893 in Zurich , † August 24, 1972 ibid) was a Swiss painter , graphic artist , sculptor and representative of the Zurich School of Concrete . He was the founder of the avant-garde artist associations Groupe Suisse Abstraction et Surréalisme and allianz .

Life

Leo Leuppi was born to a large farming family in Zurich. From 1910 to 1914 he attended the graphic arts class at the Zurich School of Applied Arts . He obtained his artistic education as an autodidact while visiting the Ethnographic Museum in Berlin and the British Museum in London as well as almost all of the major museums in Europe. At the end of the First World War , he came into contact with the Zurich Dada movement and became friends with Jean Arp . In 1934 he founded the Groupe Suisse Abstraction et Surréalisme to help modern art movements achieve their breakthrough in cultural institutions and artist associations. In 1936 he was able to present the progressive Swiss artists to a wider public for the first time with the exhibition Time Problems in Swiss Painting and Sculpture . The following year, together with Richard Paul Lohse , he set up the allianz , an association of modern Swiss artists. With the allianz exhibition New Art in Switzerland , which he organized in 1938 at the Kunsthalle Basel , together with the Almanach of New Art in Switzerland published in 1940 with Richard Paul Lohse, he set another important milestone in Swiss avant-garde art. Further allianz exhibitions followed in the Kunsthaus Zürich in 1942, in St. Gallen in 1947, in the Kunsthaus on the 10th anniversary of the allianz . In 1954 the last allianz exhibition took place in the Helmhaus in Zurich. In the same year Leuppi resigned as president of the allianz . From 1959 to 1960 he was a teacher for experimental design in the fashion class of the Zurich School of Applied Arts. In 1963 he gave up his studio on Mühlebachstrasse in Zurich and moved to the Bombach hospital in Zurich-Höngg.

plant

As the founder, organizer and president of allianz, Leuppi was one of the most important pioneers of modern art in Switzerland. His ability to lead an artist group in which representatives of opposing art movements such as constructivism, concrete art and surrealism came together is also reflected in his work, in which he combined undogmatic constructive style principles with surrealist moments.

The cubism of Pablo Picasso , Georges Braque and Juan Gris led Leuppi to abstraction. From 1937 to 1947 his works were characterized by a constructive character, where he was inspired by Max Bill , Sophie Taeuber-Arp , Walter Bodmer and Jean Arp.

His works in public spaces are known, such as the iron sculpture on the facade of the Migros building in Thun (1955), the wall mosaic in the Kolbenacker schoolhouse in Zurich (1955–1957) and the mural in the entrance hall of the Gsteigstrasse retirement home in Zurich-Höngg (1956– 1957).

literature

  • Almanac of new art in Switzerland. Texts: Max Bill et al. Ed .: "Allianz" Association of modern Swiss artists. Zurich 1940.
  • Leo Leuppi. Arteba Gallery, Zurich 1993. Concept: Sonja Lüthi. Zurich, 1993.
  • Brigit Blass: Leo Leuppi and the beginnings of the «Allianz» artist group (1929–1947). Licentiate thesis. University of Zurich, 1982.
  • 1936 - a confrontation. Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau 1981.
  • Leo Leuppi. Helmhaus Zurich, 1980. Texts: Willy Rotzler . Zurich 1980.
  • Leo Leuppi. Henry Wabel. Kunsthaus Zurich, 1962.

Web links


personal data
SURNAME Leuppi, Leo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss painter, graphic artist and sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH June 28, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH August 24, 1972
Place of death Zurich