John Willenbecher: Works from the 1960s

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Most of these seminal works are being shown publicly for the first time. This show marks the artist’s first exhibition in New York in almost two decades and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with an introduction by Dan Cameron, a New York based curator and art critic.

A self-taught artist, John Willenbecher (b. 1936) initially set out to be an art historian.  After three years of graduate studies at NYU's institute of fine arts followed by six months of travel in Europe, Willenbecher returned to New York resolved, instead, to become an artist. Seeing The Art of Assemblage, a groundbreaking exhibition curated by William C. Seitz at the Museum of Modern Art in 1961, solidified his determination.  

Willenbecher’s earliest works were greatly inspired by Joseph Cornell, and those compositions developed into the game-like constructions that landed Willenbecher his first exhibition in 1963 at Feigen+Herbert, New York. Donald Judd, reviewing the show, said "The sorts of meaning Willenbecher is dealing with are interesting. Insofar as art is philosophical this is relevant, believable philosophy, which, since it is in the art, takes art."[1] At least two works from this debut exhibition are on view in John Willenbecher: Works from the 1960s – the exhibition features seven of these related constructions all made between 1962-64.[2]

Like so many artists of this time, Willenbecher turned to the New York City streets and junk shops to mine materials for his “unknown games."[3] Painted in black, white, and shades of greys, many of the found objects that comprise the wall mounted, constructions are readily identifiable, like ABC blocks, Christmas tree balls, and wooden chair spindles. Willenbecher preferred materials “whose existences prior to his spotting them would still be detectable in their revamped state” as Cameron points out in his essay.  

Two highlights of this exhibition, Game with Sixteen Balls (1962) and Unknown Game #3 (1963), also include gold leafed letters “LYRI” and “PANSA” respectively. The latter was included in the influential 1964 exhibition Boxes at the Dwan Gallery in Los Angeles. In the text for the exhibition catalogue Walter Hopps wrote:

"Willenbecher’s Game Boxes are not to be played. . . .  A game implies activity; Willenbecher’s severely reductive aesthetic achieves mystery by allowing none."

Willenbecher’s style evolved in the second half of the decade. His sculptures became sleeker, and he introduced a wider spectrum of color in his body of work. This is represented in the show with a dual-sided piece titled Double Uranograph #1 (1967), which is shown alongside six ink and acrylic works on paper that highlight the artist’s skills as a draftsman.

[1] Judd, Donald. Arts Magazine Oct. 1963, page 56.

[2] Since there is no existing checklist from the 1963 Feigen+Hebert exhibition, a works inclusion was determined by examining the installation photos.

[3] Levin, K. “John Willenbecher.” ARTnews. V. 62. October 1963, p. 15.