Artist Talk & Reception on Saturday, November 2, 5pm
Municipal Bonds is pleased to announce Geometry of Light, a solo exhibition of works by Fritz Horstman, on view from November 2 through December 21, 2024. In Horstman's series Folded Cyanotypes, he explores the relationship between light and form through geometric abstraction. Deep blue shapes emerge from carefully folded paper, evoking natural patterns while suggesting spatial depth. Each work balances precise construction with organic variation, allowing for an interplay between structure and transformation. Through a sequence of material gestures, Horstman captures the ephemeral nature of light and prompts contemplation of perception and existence. The resulting works are formal, concrete constructions and, paradoxically, liquid and mysterious. It is in this place between the solid and fluid that, geometrically, they come to light.
Since its inception in 1842 by English astronomer and chemist Sir John Herschel (1792–1871), the cyanotype has inspired scientists, architects, amateurs, and artists to create unique visual impressions of the world. Derived from Ancient Greek meaning "dark blue mark," cyanotype photography yields distinctive Prussian blue-colored prints in depictions of myriad subjects, from botanical specimens and landscapes to architectural renderings and abstractions.
While traditional applications of the medium drew imagery from objects placed upon a treated paper surface, contemporary artist Fritz Horstman thoughtfully diverges from this approach by removing the object and seeking direct interaction with light and shadow. To create his imagery, Horstman hand-folds paper surfaces into elaborate patterns, which he then treats with cyanotype photographic fluid. The paper is exposed to sunlight and subsequently rinsed, flattened, and allowed to dry. Through this meticulous process, geometric forms and patterns emerge across the paper's surface, manifesting in a full spectrum of light-to-dark Prussian blue. Areas that were exposed to sunlight appear deep and velvety blue, while those in shadow remain pale blue or white. According to Horstman, these two-dimensional objects "carry the memory of light, three-dimensional space, and manual manipulation. They are at once sculptures and drawings, and fit comfortably into the history of camera-less photography."
Horstman's creative process generates a vast repertoire of geometric shapes, including cubes, parallelograms, stars, hexagons, curves, and diamonds, that evoke both natural and human structures. His optically dazzling and enigmatic patterns elicit architectural elements—tessellations, windows, and interlocking tiles, as well as celestial and geological phenomena, such as stars and crystals. They conjure undulating forms of mountains and waves, as well as sea and sky. The serial and geometric nature of Horstman's compositions situates the work within the historical legacy of 20th-century Abstract, Minimal, and Conceptual art. Employing both control and chance, his meticulous paper-creases form rigid boundaries, within which varied hues and textures reflect the interaction of sunlight, paper, and human intervention. Here, one discovers structure, play, and freedom—blueprints for human and natural order.
—Lisa Hayes Williams, Curator and Head of Exhibitions, New Britain Museum of American Art
Fritz Horstman (b. 1978, Albion, Michigan) is an artist, educator, and curator based in Bethany, Connecticut. A solo exhibition of Horstman's recent work is on view at the New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, Conn from September 2024 through March 2025. Accompanying the exhibition, a book of Horstman's Folded Cyanotypes has been co-published by the museum, Municipal Bonds, and Planthouse, New York. Select exhibitions include Municipal Bonds, San Francisco, California (solo); Jennifer Terzian Gallery (solo), Litchfield, Conn; Ishibashi Gallery (solo), Concord, Mass; Seton Hill University (solo), Greensburg, Penn; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Conn; Martin Museum, Baylor University; drj art projects, Berlin, Germany; Arctic Hysteria, Bergen, Norway, and St. Petersburg, Russia. He has permanently installed sculptures in Ås, Norway and at the Bauhaus in Dessau, Germany.
Recent curatorial projects include Anni Albers: In Thread and On Paper at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas; Anni Albers: Work with Materials at the Syracuse University Art Museum, New York; In Thread and On Paper: Anni Albers in Connecticut at the New Britain Museum of American Art; Becoming Trees at Concord Art in Concord, Mass; and Water Access at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art in New Haven, Conn. Recent awards and residencies include the Connecticut Art Fellowship; Bauhaus Dessau Artist-in-Residence; the Arctic Circle Residency; Shiro Oni Residency, Onishi, Japan; and an upcoming residency at Tusen Takk in northern Michigan in October 2025. He has lectured and given workshops at Yale University, Harvard University, l'École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, Lebanese American University in Beirut, The Royal Academy of Art in London, and many other institutions.
Since 2004 he has worked with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation where he is Education Director. He is the author of Interacting with Color: A Practical Guide to Josef Albers's Color Experiments, published by Yale University Press in 2024. He received his MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art and his BA from Kenyon College. He is represented by Municipal Bonds.
Fritz Horstman: Geometry of Light is presented by Municipal Bonds, located at Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota Street, San Francisco; on view November 2–December 21, 2024, Tuesday–Saturday, 12–5pm. For more information, please contact Emily Miller at 917.450.0583, info@municipalbonds.art.
