The text reproduces the inaugural speech delivered by Vordemberge-Gildewart on October 2, 1953, for the opening of the exhibition Grupo de Artistas Modernos Argentinos [Modern Artists Group of Argentina] at the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam. The exhibition presented works by Tomás Maldonado, Alfredo Hlito, Lidy Prati, Miguel Ocampo, Antonio Fernández Muro, Sarah Grilo, Clorindo Testa, and Rafael Onetto.  Over the course of his speech, Vordemberge-Gildewart discussed the properties of color and form, as well as the consequences that the discovery of perspective had on the plane. Within this framework, he emphasized the appearance of the artists that explored the new art, while also pointing out that the birth of the artwork is also a growth process wherein the pictorial plane’s form serves as the creation’s starting point. Finally, he argues that the new language of visual art should be placed above nationalism, as this language relates to a phenomenon of the era that seeks to advance the same ideal in diverse places, as was confirmed in the works presented in Amsterdam by the Argentinean avant-garde.

The nine issues of the magazine nueva vision. revista de cultura visual. Artes, arquitectura, diseño industrial, tipografía [New Vision: A Magazine for visual culture. The Arts, architecture, industrial design, and typography] were designed to serve as a space of redefinition and diffusion for Concrete art. The magazine circulated from December 1951 to 1957, with Tomás Maldonado (1922) serving as director. Although the writers’ committee varied in composition throughout the years, the participants included Carlos Méndez Mosquera (1930), Juan M. Borthagaray (1928), Francisco Bullrich, Jorge Goldemberg, Jorge Grisetti, Rafael E. J. Iglesia, Mauricio Kagel (1931), Guido Kasper, Alfredo Hlito (1923–1993), the architect Horacio Baliero (1927–2001), and Edgar Bayley (1920–1990). The first issue specifies that Hlito designed the typographical composition. Issue 2/3 stipulates “the magazine nv, nueva visión, is the property of nueva vision publishing s.r.l. (in formation).” Although Tomás Maldonado served as director, in issue 9 he is listed as founder. 

Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart (1899–1962) was born in the German city of Osnabrück and studied architecture and sculpture in Hannover. As an artist he was linked to the abstract groups of De Stijl, Cerle et Carré, and Abstraction-Création, whose works and ideas attracted the Concrete Argentinean artists. They also influenced the development of the Brazilian trend, in particular, and Latin American Concrete movements by and large.  

The Grupo de Artistas Modernos de la Argentina (GAMA) was formed by those artists linked to concrete trends: Tomás Maldonado, Alfredo Hlito, Lidy Prati, Claudio Girola, and Enio Iommi, as well as the independent abstract artists Miguel Ocampo, Antonio Fernández Muro, and Sarah Grilo. The group was active from 1952 to 1955. In August 1953, they presented an exhibition at the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, with Clorindo Testa and Rafael Onetto taking part as invited artists. This same exhibition was later presented at Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam. This document was selected because it is a transcription of the words spoken by Vordemberge-Gildewart at the opening of the Grupo de Artistas Modernos Argentinos [Modern Artists Group of Argentina] show in the aforementioned museum.