Alfons Lachauer sees the fundamental basis of his art in Constructivism and the theories of his teacher Günther Fruhtrunk, under whom he studied at the Munich Art Academy in the 1960s. For him, form and color enjoy equal status as the elements that constitute his pictures. Formally Lachauer’s constructions are based on the rectangle – deliberately not on the square, because for Lachauer this is a perfect form that needs no development. He works with combinations of rectangles, and achieves an abundance of variations with them. So the expressive quality of his work is not based on color alone. As in the case of Malevich, geometrical form also functions as a ‘conveyor of emotions’. Unlike the Suprematists, Lachauer’s Constructivism does not aim to conquer earthly reality, but relates explicitly to concrete places on this earth, its landscapes, cities and buildings.
In the works held by the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection such as Blei [Leads], Titan [Titanium] or Schwefel [Sulphur], all 1992, he condenses the respective elements into colors. The Azores island of Corvo, 1992, is formulated as contrast of Fuschia and blue-purple, but not as copies of real impressions, but as metaphors of a reality that the artist has processed and transformed.
