Geometric Abstraction

Widely praised for its fine collection of Latin American geometric abstract art, the Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros of Caracas, Venezuela, contains the compelling work of such leading artists as Uruguayan Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Brazilians Lygia Clark and Helio Oiticica, Venezuelans Gego and Jesus Rafael Soto, and Argentinians Tomas Maldonado, Raul Lozza, and Alfredo Hlito. This lavishly illustrated book presents a selection of more than eighty paintings, drawings, and sculptures from the Cisneros collection, representing some two dozen Latin American artists. The works were completed between 1934 and 1988, but the vast majority date from the 'heroic' years of geometric abstraction, 1948-1966. This special bilingual volume explores in both English and Spanish the history and importance of the major movements that were dedicated to geometric abstraction. These movements include Concretism and Neo-Concretism in Brazil, Constructivism in Uruguay, the Madi Group and Concrete artists in Argentina, and Kinetic Abstraction and Neo-Constructivism in Venezuela. The book also offers biographies of the artists and an intriguing selection of their statements and manifestos. This catalogue accompanies an exhibition from the Cisneros Collection at Harvard's Fogg Art Museum from 3 March to 21 October 2001.