Labyrinth

In the 1970s, John Willenbecher created images of mazes and labyrinths in various media. Occasionally, he received commissions to design a maze installation, for example, the granite and steel pavilion, "Labyrinth" (1993), he designed for the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Minnesota).

This print presents a geometric composition: a white (uninked) circle shape is at the center of a black linear maze design superimposed onto a square comprised of shades of gray.The "entry" to the maze is at the lower center--to the left of the artist's signature inscription. It is an artist's proof of the editioned print, which appeared in a 1973 screenprinted promotional calendar published by Edition Domberger, Germany. The 1973 calendar featured twelve artists, in addition to Willenbecher (whose "Labyrinth" appeared as the image for September): Walter Allner, Werner Berges, Allan D'Arcangelo, Timo Kw. Heinmann, Rinaldo Paluzzi, Ingrid Pohl, Julian Stanozak, Larry Stark, Gerd Winner, Fritz Ruoff, and Karel Novosad. The 1973 calendar was issued in an edition of 130 signed prints, 2,370 unsigned prints, and 22 Artist Proofs.

Luitpold Domberger (1912-2005) was a pioneer of modern screenprinting in Germany; he founded his first printing studio in 1949 in Stuttgart. Later, he collaborated with his son, Michael Domberger (born 1940). The Galerie/Edition Domberger continues in Filderstadt (near Stuttgart), Germany.