Vibrations

Artist

John von Wicht (American; German, 1888 – 1970)

Date

mid-20th century

Medium

Oil on board

Dimensions

Work : 16 1/4 x 21 1/4 in. (41.28 x 53.98 cm)

Credit Line

Hope College Collection

Object Number

2017.54.3

Label

At art school in his native Germany John Von Wicht received a thorough training in various traditional art styles, but after immigrating to the United States in 1923, Von Wicht was drawn increasingly to modern art. He first experimented with Cubism and Surrealism before moving on to abstraction in the late 1930s. This painting belongs to a larger body of abstract expressionist work Von Wicht created in the 1950s to explore the connections between visual art and music. The swirling brushstrokes suggest the contours of a musical composition while the bright flashes of color suggest the contributions of different instruments.