Head of a Dancer, 1923

Born in Borgo di Valsugana in Trentino, Erika Giovanna Klien (1900–1957) started studying at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts in 1919 under Franz Čižek (1865–1946), an exponent of progressive education and founder of Viennese Kineticism – one of the few avant-garde art movements brought forth by the Austrian interwar period. The term is derived from the Greek word kinesis, meaning movement. Taking up influences from Cubism, Constructivism and Futurism, the movement was further inspired by dance, music, architecture and a holistic view of designing. From 1928, Klien started work on a Kineticist puppet theater. Her rendering Head of a Dancer, created in 1923, shows rhythmical motion sequences. At the same time, she dismantled the motif of the head and reproduced it with reduced shapes and colors. From 1929 until her death in 1957, she lived in New York, where she also taught and published theoretical writings on art education. From 1924, aged 61, Broncia Koller-Pinell (1863–1934) took lessons from the 24-year-old Klien.

EF, 2021