Adolescence is one of the great themes of Rita Ackermann’s art. In ‘American Iconology’ (2024) the artist reuses earlier compositions and figures as anchor points for new concepts.

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Rita Ackermann

American Iconology

  • 2024
  • Oil, acrylic and crayon on canvas
  • 213.4 x 233.7 cm / 84 x 92 in
© Rita AckermannPhoto: Sarah Muehlbauer

Ackermann’s ‘American Iconology’ belongs to a body of work that debuted at Hauser & Wirth New York in 2024. Titled ‘Splits,’ these works feature fragmentary figures and distinct registers that recall the artist’s ‘Variations’ from 2022.

The layered composition of ‘American Iconology’ brims with movement. Featuring monoprinted elements, the work is further testament to Ackermann’s interest in blurring the boundaries between mediums.

‘American Iconology’ ultimately speaks to the visual and symbolic richness of Ackermann’s work.

Image and sound are just tools… sometimes you have to listen to the image and look at the sound…’

JL Godard

‘Composed as a sequence of stacked-up semi-translucent frames, these canvases can also be seen as the visual equivalent of images imprinted on a film strip. Ackermann, in fact, draws parallels between the transformative essence of the images in the Splits and the dynamic permutations observed when montaged photographic images are projected in a cinema. In both mediums, meaning opens in the infinitesimal split between what the eye sees and the elusive.’—Dr. Pamela Kort

Rita Ackermann

The opposing impulses of creation and destruction mark the touchstone of the Hungarian-born, New York-based artist Rita Ackermann’s practice, which continues to evolve and manifest itself in the shift from representation to abstraction.

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[1] JL Godard quoted in interview with Dick Cavett, 1980, YouTube
[2]
Dr. Pamela Kort quoted in ‘Rita Ackermann. Splits,’ Press Release, Hauser & Wirth, 2024

Portraits: Rita Ackermann at Fondazione Iris, 2024 © Rita Ackermann. Photo: Daniel Turner