Klara Kuchta (1941)
Hungary, Switzerland
Biography :
"Installed in Geneva in 1972, Klara Kuchta became known by taking part in the collective exhibitions of the Groupe des cartonniers-lisssiers romands, presented in parallel with the Tapestry Biennials in Lausanne. Her research on the tapestry-space-environment relationship made her stand out in a discipline whose stars are Denise Emery, Magdalena Abakamowicz and Jagoda Buic. A student of Noémi Ferenczy, Kuchta has a practice whose principles derive from the manufacturing processes of Aubusson tapestry, allowing him to virtuoso introduce, in the same creation, varied materials and techniques. His approach to contemporary art is through applied arts and in particular the Bauhaus tradition, very vibrant in Eastern Europe. At that time, Kuchta worked in a field considered artisanal, but she sought to place her productions in a broader vision and considered herself an artist in her own right. The decade 1974-1984, one of the artist's most fruitful, marked the abandonment of wall tapestry. The discovery of the work of Fred Forest, Hervé Fischer and Jean-Paul Thénot at the Lara Vinci gallery in 1976 oriented his work towards socio-economic art. The art critic Pierre Restany, attracted by the productions she creates from found books and by the new material she adopts – hair – invites her to exhibit at the Palazzo Grassi in parallel with the 38th Biennale of Venice (1978) and weaves links between his work and those of the New Realists. The travels she made then, her meetings with Joseph Kosuth, Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys, her exhibitions at the Isy Brachot gallery in Brussels, projected her onto the international art circuit. Away from the art scene for a while, Kuchta returned to exhibitions in the 1990s. She became interested in sundials and designed a monumental clock with a laser sundial for Geneva, installed at the Perle du Lac in 1997.
Kuchta’s work is a programmatic work which proceeds in cycles of around ten years each. Sensitive to the watchword of the 1970s to “occupy space”, she experimented, using sisal threads, with modules with strong relief that resemble columns (Habitatable Environment, 1974). In parallel with “hair writings” and video performances, in 1974 Kuchta began a major socio-aesthetic investigation centered on hair. She questions hair practices in Europe, fashion phenomena and social pressures (Venetian Blond, 1978; Being blonde is perfection, 1980), as well as the symbols and myths linked to hair (Scalp (Espace-Effraction ), 1983; Samson, 1985).
Video appears quite naturally in his work. She is not a videographer, but for her performances, she uses video support which leads her to practice this booming medium. The exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Lucerne (2008) places his videos alongside the productions of the pioneers of video art in Switzerland. Photography was used in a privileged way in the following decade (1984-1994) devoted to the principle of Interconnection (encounter, creativity, movement). The introduction of mirrors in post-Suprematist compositions reflects his interest in transparency and light in the work of his compatriot László Moholy-Nagy as exemplified in Good-Morning Mr. Moholy-Nagy (1989), a composition in which the The cast shadow reproduces one of his paintings.
Light installations occupied him particularly in the 2000s. Presented in 2004 at the Kiscelli Museum in Budapest, Installation Lumière, an ephemeral installation combining cutting-edge technologies and philosophical reflections, remains his most ambitious work in this field. Kuchta is currently attempting a synthesis of his work by reconnecting with his research on Interconnection."
(Source, website, SIK)