Kasperltheater 1907

Hans Kalmsteiner created this small, playful print – we don’t know when exactly or with what materials. I love how the composition is built around flat shapes. The texture is implied through color and pattern: a stippled floor, polka dots on the figure to the left, all within a decorative border that makes me think of a theater set. Look at the figure in the blue coat and red pants, you can see the individual marks. It is clear the artist built the image up from blocks of color. The figure on the left, operating the camera, has this great, swooping, curving form, which echoes the shape of the camera itself. It's a delicious, cartoonish curve, repeated again and again in the circles of their costume. Maybe it’s because I think a lot about funny shapes, but I am reminded of the work of Philip Guston. Although of course, this little print has its own very particular charm. It's loose, it's weird, it's great!