Ida
Kohlmeyer was born in 1912 to Polish immigrants. She had a privileged upbringing and was educated in private schools in New Orleans.
Kohlmeyer
was thirty seven years old when she took her first painting class at Newcomb
College.
Kohlmeyer’s
work was greatly influenced by two artists: Hans Hofmann and Mark Rothko. A giant in 20th century abstraction, Hofmann inspired her with his theory of painting as invention.
Kohlmeyer
was inspired by Rothko’s contemplative nature and physical involvement in the act of painting.
Kohlmeyer’s mixing of aesthetic, cultural, spiritual, and intellectual influences combined with the teachings
of modern masters created her unique form of expressionism with a pictorial language.
Ida
Kohlmeyer’s sculptures are reminiscent of her drawings. It is as if she transformed her pictorial language from paper
to painted aluminum.
Her
art is an exercise in color and patterns as can be seen in Rebus 3D-89-3. Kohlmeyer creates what looks like coded images
and places them in a towering form.
Rebus
means a riddle made up of pictures and symbols. The visual riddle that she has presented is a combination of the gestural,
and symbolic aspects with her innate playful-ness of color and form. She has given no system of encoding for her secret language
and the viewer must contemplate this riddle for himself.
