Juan Melé (1923) is an Argentine artist who was involved in the Asociación Arte Concreto – Invención [Concrete Art and Invention Association] and went to Paris in 1948 with Gregorio Vardanega, another painter who was also in the group. In 1955, Melé was one of the founding members of the Asociación Arte Nuevo [New Art Association], which was originally created by Aldo Pellegrini and Carmelo Arden Quin. Melé now divides his time between Paris and Buenos Aires.Aldo Pellegrini (1903-1973) was a poet, playwright, essayist, art critic, and a moving force in Argentine cultural circles. He was an early promoter of Surrealism, and directed several publishing projects. He was also an active supporter and promoter of the various expressions of Abstract act, and provided encouragement to groups such as Artistas Modernos de la Argentina [Modern Artists of Argentina] and the Asociación Arte Nuevo [The Association of New Art]. This essay appears in Artistas Abstractos de la Argentina [Abstract Artists of Argentina], a book by Aldo Pellegrini, who introduced the concept of Abstraction to Argentina; he explained that it was a way of expressing the change experienced by a cosmic way of seeing. He also pointed out that the artists represented in this book work in different styles — some are Concrete artists, others are exponents of Madí, and still others are independent artists who work in the field of Abstraction — but they all seek a similar goal of purity in their media and discipline in the execution of their work. A variety of opinions on the subject, written by other artists, can be found in: Las tendencias estéticas actuales y sus realizaciones plásticas [Current aesthetic trends and their expression in the visual arts] (# 742569); El orden y equilibrio constructivos inducen a un equilibrio [Constructive order and balance are conducive to a state of equilibrium] ( # 742769), and En la escultura madí, además del valor plástico [In Madi sculpture, in addition to its value in terms of visual art] (# 742564).This material was chosen because it documents Melé’s ideas concerning Concrete art.
