Clark W. Richert

Clark Richert, an artist known for his brilliant geometric artwork and dedication to Colorado’s art community, passed away on the morning of December 24, 2021.

Born in Wichita, Kansas, on May 3, 1941, the third son of Anton and Louise Holladay Richert, Clark was still in his teens when he discovered Abstract Expressionism and decided to become an artist. He studied art at University of Kansas in Lawrence, receiving his BFA in 1963, the same year he was commissioned to show work in the Five Paintings show sponsored by the Container Corporation of America in Chicago, Illinois.

After embarking on an MFA at University of Colorado, Boulder; Richert took a break from his studies in 1965 with fellow art students Gene and Joann Bernofsky to found the artists’ community Drop City near Trinidad, Colorado. Other artists, such as Richard Kallweit and Charlie DiJulio, joined the effort. Inspired by Buckminster Fuller and architect Steve Baer, the community’s unconventional architecture and alternative lifestyle soon drew attention from national news media, which in turn attracted more young artists from around the country. Drop City continued to grow in population and prominence, and in 1969 Richert with other resident artists participated in the Engineering, Art, Technology (EAT) exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City. Other communities, such as Libre and New Buffalo, began springing up throughout the Southwest.

Meanwhile, Richert had started a family that needed his full support. With wife Susie and two young children, Richert returned to Boulder to finish his MFA, which he completed in 1972. He and fellow droppers founded the Criss Cross artists’ cooperative and published a nationally-distributed art journal, Criss Cross Art Communications, which focused on issues surrounding pattern and structures that continued concepts of peer-to-peer collaboration they had developed at Drop City.

Drop City and Criss Cross solidly established Richert as a community builder. His artwork earned him commissions and exhibitions throughout the country. After moving to Denver in the early 1980s, he started a teaching career that spanned three decades, most notably at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, now in Lakewood, Colorado, where he achieved renown for inspiring and mentoring young artists and facilitating their entry into the art world.

An eternal optimist, Richert always looked for the good in others, seeking to bring people together around creative ideas and endeavors—from Drop City and Criss Cross to his mentorship as master artist with Redline Contemporary Art Center, and most recently collaborating with acclaimed Colorado Developer Dana Crawford in early 2021 on the vision of the artists’ live-work space, East Street School, in Trinidad, Colorado.

Throughout his career, Richert produced an impressive body of work and exhibited at numerous galleries and museums, including many shows at his Denver home gallery, RULE Gallery; and at a dual Retrospective in 2019 at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Denver; and Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMOCA). He continued to explore new subject matters and media, from his signature large geometric paintings to videos, happenings, and publishing. In 2019, at the commission of developer and community activist Amy Harmon, he created “Quadrivium,” an animated, 14-foot, rhombic triacontahedron in collaboration with Ryan Elmendorf and his team at EG Studios. In 2021, he designed an 8’x 40’concrete pavement mosaic for the Broadway Park North Metropolitan District No. 1 in Denver.

Richert is survived by his life partner, Barbara Ittner, children Luther Dylan, Hannah Louise, and Brandon M. Richert, granddaughter Myra Jane Richert; and by his siblings, Stuart Richert, Kent Richert, and Kathryn Richert-Boe; as well as by his long-time friend, Margaret Neumann. These individuals and many others were fortunate to experience the unwavering love and devotion he generously shared throughout his life.

Richert’s remains will reside at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado adjacent to a park where he and Barbara enjoyed walking.

The Celebration of Life and Legacy will be held on Friday, June 24, 2022 from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, located at 1485 Delgany St., Denver, CO 80211

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his name to any of Colorado’s fine art organizations, including but not limited to:

MCA Denver – https://mcadenver.org/

BMOCA Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art – https://bmoca.org/

Redline Contemporary Art Center – https://www.redlineart.org/

The Denver Art Museum = https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en

The Kirkland Museum – https://www.kirklandmuseum.org/