The Plexi Pieces - Krebs’ Glistening Geometrical Sculptures - Original photographs from the 1960s

1962-1965  United States Navy
1965  Trip to Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont to visit
Anthony Caro and Kenneth Noland. 
Began plexiglass pieces.
1967  First experimentations with lasers, ideas for projection of color transparencies into a controlled atmosphere of vapor.

"Krebs responded deeply to the work of sculptor Anthony Caro and visited Caro at Bennington College in Vermont where he, as well as Kenneth Noland, was teaching.  While Krebs’s exposure to art is extremely broad, the work of Noland and Caro has been the most immediately influential. 
The most remarkable aspect of Krebs’ s study of the work of Noland and Caro is the speed with which he was able to grasp the problems they were presenting in their art and then the speed with which he was able to apply this
toward solutions all his own.

Clipper Flower, 1969

From these first triangular plexiglass works to the complex forms in clear plexiglass with pigmented resin in their seams…the reduction of the material requirements of  sculpture and the resulting demands on the viewer’s perception have been continuous.  While the pristine forms and handsomely crafted materials in these sculptures are an undeniable part of their appeal, their strength lies primarily in their creation of ambiguity….The ambiguity in Krebs’ plexiglass pieces centers on their opposing qualities of concreteness and transparency….Later the edges of the plexiglass forms were beveled to create a greater end surface and pigment was added to the resin used to join the separate sections.  The result...was a glowing configuration of colored light supported by transparent planes." 
Woods, James N.  Rockne Krebs, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1971.

Pi Flower, 1968. Photograph by Steve Szabo.

Untitled, 1967

“His materials vary but his concerns remain the same.  All his sculptures deal with space-space explored and occupied by glowing lines of light. Krebs’ laser lines vanish at the throwing of a switch.  His plastic lines are permanent
but their look is equally insubstantial, luminous and pure…They’re generated by the plexiglass he works with….The planes are colorless, but their edges glow.”  Richard, Paul. 
The Artful Showing of Space, Light and Geometry, The Washington Post, 1969.

“….an exhilarating atmosphere of pure form... his growing mastery both of theory and technique has been an impressive thing to observe…Krebs’ work in plexiglass based upon an ingenious variety of conformations of the right triangle, is stunningly beautiful, a demonstration of the poetry of pure forms.” 
Forgey, Benjamin. ART: the Pure Form of Krebs, The Washington Star, 1969.

“The sculpture seems to change as the viewer moves around it.  Seen from the outside, the diagonal edges of the parallel walls overlap in the field of vision, forming a glistening X that shifts proportion as the viewer moves his head….all the while, the shadows and reflections cast by Clear  (5’ wide x 12’ high) are responding precisely to the clouds and people moving around it and to the movement of the sun…displayed outdoors for HemisFair ’68, the world’s fair in San Antonio, TX.  More than seven million people are expected to look at – as well as through – a Krebs sculpture of transparent Plexiglass...” 
Richard, Paul.  HemisFair Sculpture, The Washington Post, 1968.

Photo Courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago. Artists, Krebs, Judd, Francis, 69th American Exhibition, 1970.

XXIV, 1967

“Actual space is the medium of sculpture. I want to grasp the peculiarities of this medium and to force perception of the sculptural space to a conscious level….A transparent object occupies space, yet it can absent itself from the milieu. When this occurs, the viewer is compelled to locate it and define for himself the space it occupies. Perception of the space becomes a conscious act. The sculptures exist without an image and maintain a curious detachment from the surrounding space, even while their transparency continually confronts the viewer with his environment.  The six planes that form the urban interiors through which our bodies  move become their armature. “ Rockne Krebs, December 1967
Artists on Their Art, Art International, Volume XII/4, 1968.

- HK