| Issue #30, October 20, 2006 |
Robert Richenburg, 89
By Marion Wolberg Weiss
The death of East Hampton artist Robert Richenburg was a profound professional and personal loss; his boundless words, deeds and artworks will continue to evoke distinct and precious memories for many people. Far more than most artists, however, Bob’s artistic life was intimately connected to his family life: his wife, children, step -children and grandchildren. His home in the Springs was a true extension of his love of life and his aesthetic endeavors. Anyone who entered his home felt at peace.
Simply put, dysfunction is not a word that could characterize any part of Bob’s life or being. How many of us, especially artists, could say that? Confusing, when you consider that artists seem to wear dysfunction like a code of honor, proudly and without excuses.
But Bob made no excuses for his lack of dysfunction. For the good or the bad or the ugly. He especially didn’t make excuses for his artistic risk-taking and experimentation. Such boldness took many forms, but his diverse use of materials was particularly noteworthy: from acrylic collage on paper to oil on canvas, galvanized wire and plastic. Bob’s compositions were as varied, from geometric abstractions to grid formations, Cubist figures and textured configurations.
While some of his works were signature pieces (like “Homage to Valery,” 1960) many were idiosyncratic like his “Eternal Roll Series.” One thing was for certain: neither Bob nor his work was stereotypical.
Yet we are tempted, nonetheless, to characterize his art. If there were certain elements which remained consistent, they might have been seen in his “Eternal Roll Series:” fuzzy balls of wire that were at once whimsical and substantial, material and spirit.
While we knew that a wind might blow the balls away at a moment’s notice, we also knew they would stand the test of time, remaining where they were.
The same could be said of Robert Richenburg.
A book about the artist has recently been published. Robert Richenburg: The Richard Zahn Collection is available from David Findlay Jr. Fine Art. Tel: 212-486-7660.
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