With dim alleyways and pop-art stylized still-lifes, printmaker Armin Landeck’s architectural influence was shaped by the Americana modernism of urban cityscapes. On view now through April 26 at the Art Complex Museum (ACM) in Duxbury, Massachusetts, “Armin Landeck: Rooftops and More” is a collection of 19 prints and illustrations that trace history and remind us that where there’s a shadow, there’s always light.
Landeck’s works were donated to the Art Complex Museum by the artist’s daughter, who happened to be an ACM volunteer. They remain a part of the museum’s permanent collection, amongst the likes of American printmaking contemporaries Edward Hopper and Martin Lewis. Julia Courtney, Collections Curator and Deputy Director of the Art Complex Museum, told me that this exhibit felt timely, with a lightness in both subject and content.
Returning to the United States from Europe during the height of the Great Depression, Landeck’s artistic perspective shifted from photography to intaglio. The skyscraper remained a constant throughout his work, standing tall as an emblem of modernism and a signifier of hope following the economic downturn and industrialization crisis. Best known for his Manhattan skylines, Landeck’s prints reached new heights and have remained an influential contribution to the prints of this period.