Erika Giovanna Klien

1900 Borgo di Valsugana - 1957 New York

  • Title Wing Motion
  • Date c. 1938
  • Technic watercolour on paper
  • Dimensions 50.8 x 35.4 cm
  • Signature signed and titled lower right: E. G. K. / WING-MOTION designated lower right by other hand: Around 1938
  • Provenance from the estate of the artist; private collection, Vienna
  • Literature Sylvia Kovacek GmbH (ed.) Erika Giovanna Klien. Wiener Kinetismus. Vienna 2022, p. 95, ill. 34
Artist overview Inquire price

Erika Giovanna Klien is one of the most important representatives of Viennese Kinetism. An art form that explores movement and its visualisation. In the featured watercolour Klien shows us one of her favourite subjects - the movement of a bird's wing. In several shades of grey, she visualizes the split up movement a bird makes when flapping its wing. Following a vertical line, the portrayal also shows a captivating aesthetic. The slight curve deviates from the otherwise strict geometric forms and lends the wing a softer quality. Watercolour was one of Klien's favoured mediums, alongside drawing and painting. Even with the limited colour palette she achieves an artwork that is both decorative and an exploration of natural movment. This is what makes Klien's work exceptional.