In this translated and edited text by Ralph E. Dimmick for a monograph on Venezuelan art as part of the series Art of Latin America Today, the critic and art historian Clara Diament de Sujo offers an overview of the state of art in 1961. In her assessment, the author looks briefly at the history of art in Venezuela beginning with Pre-Columbian, colonial and republican periods followed by a deeper analysis of figurative art trends and artists trajectory in the first half of the 20th century. She places the year 1949 as the beginning of a renaissance in the arts spun by geometric abstraction, which provides a more universal voice to Venezuelan art. Sujo discusses at length the new and emerging talent placing special emphasis on the names of Alejandro Otero, Jesús Rafael Soto, Gert Leufert. Ángel Hurtado, Jaime Sánchez, artists Elsa Gramcko, Mercedes Pardo, Luisa Richter, and Gego [Gertrud Goldschmidt]; as well as other artists working in the primitive and informalist style with Tachism influence. 

This text was commissioned by the Pan American Union, Organization of American States’ Visual Arts Department in 1961 as part of the English language monograph series Latin American Art Today, published between 1958 and 1969. The series sought to engage and familiarize larger English speaking audiences in the United States with the art developments of countries in Latin America. The objective of the series was to present a panorama of contemporary art in Latin American countries as seen through the eyes of the foremost art critics of the moment. Designed as a booklet, it followed an established model of an introduction with pre 20th century art, a short history of art in the early 20th century before moving to a complete analysis of the work and career of the most prominent contemporary artists of each country. The original texts were written in Spanish and translated and edited into English by Ralph E. Dimmick and José Gómez Sicre of the OAS. Countries featured in the series included Haiti, Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Although one for Mexico was commissioned, the author never completed it and therefore, was never published. Gómez Sicre selected the authors of these monographs by consulting artists of each country and provided the guidelines for the essay including suggestions of artists to incorporate as part of the study. This text constitutes the main essay of the book Diament de Sujo, Clara. Art in Latin America Today, Venezuela (Washington, DC: Pan American Union, Organization of American States, 1961, 77 pp).

[For additional texts by Clara Diament Sujo, see the following in the ICAA digital archive: “Art in Latin American Today, Venezuela” (doc. no. 1214123); “Elsa Gramcko” (doc. no. 1153604);  and “Una mañana con Gego” (doc. no. 864793)].