1931, Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Pintura Constructiva -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
From the museum label: In 1930 Torres-García co-founded the Cercle et Carré (Circle and Square) association in Paris, gathering artists such as Jean Arp, Kurt Schwitters, and Wassily Kandinsky in the development of abstraction. Torres-García's work from this period assimilated the principles of Neo-Plasticism, including the use of straight lines, geometric shapes, and primary colors. This painting represents his signature style, named Universal Constructivism by the artist. Torres-García aimed for a universal vocabulary that could stand for the humanist spirit across all time periods and cultures. By painting symbols inserted into a gridded structure, the artist reconciled abstraction with figuration and incorporated the iconographic traditions of ancient American art into the European avant-garde movements.
1931, Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Pintura Constructiva -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
From the museum label: In 1930 Torres-García co-founded the Cercle et Carré (Circle and Square) association in Paris, gathering artists such as Jean Arp, Kurt Schwitters, and Wassily Kandinsky in the development of abstraction. Torres-García's work from this period assimilated the principles of Neo-Plasticism, including the use of straight lines, geometric shapes, and primary colors. This painting represents his signature style, named Universal Constructivism by the artist. Torres-García aimed for a universal vocabulary that could stand for the humanist spirit across all time periods and cultures. By painting symbols inserted into a gridded structure, the artist reconciled abstraction with figuration and incorporated the iconographic traditions of ancient American art into the European avant-garde movements.