Kinetic / Installation
Clark began to explore kinetic art when still in school. One of his teachers told him that his Drawing Machine, 1961, was “not art.” But Richert persisted in his pursuit, and when the Ultimate Painting, a collaborative effort at Drop City, was featured at the Brooklyn Museum’s prestigious E.A.T. Exhibition, organized by Billy Kluver and Robert Rauschenburg, his instincts were validated. Other projects followed, including pavement piece at Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver; and a wall mural at the Redline Contemporary Art Center. A projection of Richert’s geometric abstractions appeared at the opening Biennial of the Americas show in 2010; and in 2021 he completed the pavement installation Four Color Intertwine, an homage to Herbert Bayer.
Quadrivium | Denver, CO 2020
Clark Richert’s Quadrivium, commissioned by philanthropist Amy Harmon, is a 14’ diameter, electronically-lit, geometric structure that animates transitions between basic geometric solids (Platonic and Archimedian) harmonically, inter-related by the golden mean. Strategically positioned at the intersection of Glenarm Place and E. 20th Avenue, the large triacontehedron employs color, light and motion to bring unity and hope to Denver; and create a space for discussion and learning.
Historically, the quadrivium was a medieval university curriculum involving the Mathematical Arts: Number, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music. This model treated all knowledge as interrelated in pursuit of a common goal - explaining an assumed intelligent order to existence, a perspective that seems appropriate to Richert’s piece.
