Rolf Rappaz

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Rolf Rappaz (1914–1996) graphic designer, artist. Grave in the Hörnli cemetery
Grave in the cemetery at Hörnli Basel
Sign at the «RappazHaus», Basel

Rolf Rappaz (* 9. September 1914 in Basel ; † 9. January 1996 there) was a Swiss graphic designers and artists of Constructivism .

life and work

Rolf Rappaz did an apprenticeship as a graphic designer, attended the Basel School of Applied Arts and studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris . From 1939 he ran a graphic studio, which he ran successfully for decades. In 1938 he was a founding member of the Association of Swiss Graphic Artists (local group Basel) and taught from 1942 to 1945 as a specialist teacher for graphics at the trade school in Basel, which had a significant influence on a generation of young artists, including Eva Aeppli and Jean Tinguely . In the 1960s, Rappaz gave up his job as a commercial artist and devoted himself exclusively to fine art.

graphic

As one of the early independent graphic designers, Rappaz had a lasting influence on the Swiss graphic style of the post-war period. Specializing in poster advertising and trade fair construction, his work for Firestone , Avia , the Swiss National Exhibition , the Swiss Shipping Company , the Basel Sample Fair and textile companies such as Stoffel in Mels, Fischbacher in St. Gallen and Rohner in Balgach were characterized by a clear, catchy style, in which global legibility is combined with personal visual wit. In 1945, Rappaz's poster upswing for the Basel sample fair was named “ Swiss poster of the year ” by the Federal Department of Home Affairs .

art

Rappaz's artistic work is shaped by constructivism and can be assigned to the direction of concrete art . The principle of his work is the permutation : By dissecting, swapping and combining, he allows a variety of the basic geometric shapes (circle, square and triangle) and the three primary colors (red, blue, yellow) in single and alternating pictures, picture series and sculptures surprising configurations arise.

exhibition

literature

  • Rolf Rappaz, permutations. Text by Carlo Huber. Bern 1972.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rappaz, Rolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss graphic artist
DATE OF BIRTH September 9, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel
DATE OF DEATH January 9, 1996
Place of death Basel