Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art in Denver is now hosting a year-long (through Dec. 31, 2019) celebration of the Bauhaus, with over 100 works exhibited by artists and designers connected to the influential German art and design school.

2019 marks 100 years since the opening of the Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany. To mark this anniversary, Kirkland Museum is highlighting objects from the permanent collection created by designers who were once Bauhaus teachers or students, including Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marianne Brandt.

The collection includes work by eleven artist and designers who studied or taught at the Bauhaus. Following Kirkland Museum’s mission to promote Colorado’s distinguished art history, this celebration features the work of two Bauhaus artists who later worked in Colorado: herbert bayer and Werner Drewes.

Bauhaus in Colorado

herbert bayer (pronounced BYE-er) was both a student and teacher at the Bauhaus. He is represented at Kirkland Museum with sculpture, painting, prints and photomontage. He was also an architect and designer of exhibitions and typefaces. He lived in Aspen, Colorado, from 1946 to 1975. His preference for idealized, universal typefaces using only lowercase letters has led us to spell his name without capital letters, in homage.

Werner Drewes (pronounced VUHR-nuhr DREV-es) studied at the Bauhaus. He was a painter, printmaker and art teacher. His family connections to Colorado led him to visit and create work in the state.

The Bauhaus school was only in operation for fourteen years, from 1919 to 1933, before pressure by the Nazis forced its closure and the resulting emigration of the staff spread its influence worldwide.

The formal Bauhaus 100 jubilee features year-long events across many cities in Germany. While work by Bauhaus designers is always shown at Kirkland Museum, this expanded display will be on view through December 31, 2019.

A lecture given by herbert bayer scholar Gwen Chanzit is being planned for mid-April 2019. Details will be posted online as they are confirmed. Chanzit’s book, From Bauhaus to Aspen: Herbert Bayer and Modernist Design in America, is available for purchase in the Museum Store.