The watercolors of Wiedemann are immediately arresting-the viewer is excited and intrigues by their artistry. The sensual attractions of his extraordinary use of color is captivating. There is no hesitation or timidity in the use of highly saturated reds, blues, and greens, and yet blatancy is avoided by skillfully playing black against these strong hues, a black which is used coloristically and as an agent for defining form. Wiedemann also has an uncanny degree of control over the use of beautifully luminous and liquid washed of color. This mastery of the medium inevitably brings to mind the watercolors of Nolde, with their jewel-lie palette. Instead of intimate flowers and expressionist landscapes, we have evocative forms; here, mistily receding into space; there; aggressively asserting themselves. The appeal and strength of these watercolors does not lie only in color and its application in infinitely varied modulations; the structure and composition of each establishes an in intellectual identity. Through the interaction of form and color a conscious balance is reached – in some cases a balance of force and counterforce, and in others a balance of almost classical serenity. It is this combination of a logical, ordered conception of structure with superb artistry of execution which places Wiedemann’s work on a level with the finest abstract painting. It is an honor for R.M.Light & Co. to be able to present these watercolors to the public in this exhibition and we do so proudly.

Guillermo Wiedemann was born in Munich, Germany, in 1905. His youth was spent in its environs and he attended the Academy there. During the early years, he traveled extensively in Europe absorbing the artistic ferment then threatening the citadels of traditional art. At the age of thirty-four, sensing the extent of the political revolutions which were about to convulse Germany and the worldand abhorring their implications, he emigrated to South America. He took up residence in Bogota and became a citizen of Columbia in 1946. Of course, his artistic training began while he was still in Munich and he had reached a high degree of professional capability before coming to the New World. Yet is was here that his art developed in new and, though logical, perhaps unexpected directions. The outcome of this development is represented in this beautiful and exciting exhibition. A selection of the one-man exhibitions held of Wiedemann’s work follows: Biblioteca National, Bogota, in 1941, 1945, 1955, and 1958; Carstairs Gallery, New York, in 1946; De young Museum, San Francisco, in 1946; Pasadena Museum, Pasadena, in 1946; Museo Nacional, Bogota, in 1951; Galeria Buchholz, Bogota, 1952 and 1953; Pan American Union, Washington, D.C., in 1961. Examples of his work have been included in the following exhibitions: salon Nacional de Arte Moderno, Museo Nacionel, Bogota, in 1949; Deutsche Kaust Austellung, Hans der Kunst, Munich, in 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1958; Exposicion de Tendencias Actuales, Biblioteca Nacional, Bogota, in 1956; Biennial of Central America and the Carribbean, Fine Arts Museum, Houston, in 1956; Biennale di Venezia, in 1958; Bienal Interamericana, Mexico, in 1958; Guggenheim Museum, New York, in 1958; Bienal de Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1959. Paintings by Wiedemann are to be found in the following collections: Museo Nacional, Bogota; Museo Zea, Medelin; De Young Museum, San Francisco; Stadtische Galerie, Munich; Private Collections in Columbia, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, etc.