Hans Burkhardt: 1950-1960

Bright and richly painted oils from this important period in the development of Abstract Expressionism. Major works primarily from Burkhardt's "Mexican Period", including several exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art and The Sao Paulo Biennial, etc. The catalogue essay broadly charts Burkhardt's history and artistic development, particularly after arriving in Los Angeles in 1937 from New York.

Jack Rutberg is owner and director of Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, in Los Angeles, a gallery established in 1979, dealing in Modern and Contemporary art. In that capacity he has acted as dealer, curator, and consultant for more than 25 years, representing a wide range of important American and European artists.

Mr. Rutberg has lectured extensively on a wide range of subjects related to Modern and Contemporary art in colleges and universities, including the University of California Los Angeles, California State University Northridge, Utah State University, Pierce College, Fullerton College, Orange Coast College, and Rancho Santiago College.

Mr. Rutberg has published catalogues on the works of Hannelore Baron, Hans Burkhardt, Claire Falkenstein, Edward Glauder, and Patrick Graham. In addition to his own publications he has written the introduction to a book on Patrick Graham, recently published in Ireland by Gandon Editions and introductory text on the Käthe Kollwitz catalogue published for the recent University College Gallery exhibition in Galway, Ireland.

Mr. Rutberg has published extensively on the works of Hans Burkhardt. Among the eight catalogues published to date on Burkhardt, Mr. Rutberg has written the catalogue raisonné, Hans Burkhardt: The War Paintings, published by Santa Susana Press, California State University Northridge. Documented are Burkhardt's paintings created in response to war, spanning the Spanish Civil War through the mid 1980's. Most recent publications include Hans Burkhardt: Desert Storms, Burkhardt's response to the Iraq Kuwait conflict, published in 1991, and Black Rain documenting Burkhardt's final works dating from 1993.