Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

This article written by the Argentine critic, Rafael Squirru, takes a position on the antinomy between figurative and nonfigurative art as debated in the current era (1958). The writer states that, first and foremost, he allows matters that may be [...]

In this article, Argentine art critic, Jorge Romero Brest, establishes a dialogue with the viewer unfamiliar with abstract art to explain the central ideas of that movement and of Concrete Art. In so doing, he emphasizes the prejudice that abstract [...]

This text provides an account of the lecture that Tomás Maldonado gave at the Galería Krayd in Buenos Aires on October 27, 1953. A Concrete artist, Maldonado spoke of the passage from “precise” to “imprecise forms” on the basis of a [...]

This is the Manifesto in which Edgar Bayley discussed both the crisis in representative art and the emergence of an art of “invention” that would accompany the arrival of both innovative forms of organization and the progress of productive forces [...]

Analysis of the exhibition Arte Abstracto, del arte figurativo al arte abstracto [Abstract Art, from Figurative Art to Abstract Art], organized by French critic Léon Degand and presented at the Instituto de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, in July of [...]

This letter from Gyula Kosice to Blanca Stabile explains that Tomás Maldonado was not a member of the board of directors of Arturo magazine, and refers to certain sources that document chronological details concerning the origins of the Argentine [...]

This is a text that analyzes the interferences among the arts. It relates music to painting by noting, in the first place, the correspondence between the application of the tonal scales and the laws of perspective to be followed between dodecaphony [...]

The essay situates Joaquín Torres-García’s work within the course of his life and, at the same time, explains some of its polemic aspects. On one hand, it points out the lack of acknowledgment of the contributions made by the Uruguayan artist to [...]

Manuel Mujica Láinez replies to the survey on abstract and nonfigurative art, noting his inclination to use the terms “abstract” and “concrete” interchangeably, insofar as the trend does not cease to be what it is because of the label it [...]

This document is an essay on Wolfgang Paalen published in the magazine Ciclo. Arte, literatura, pensamiento modernos. [Cycle. Modern Art, Literature, Thought]. In it, Aldo Pellegrini points out the three periods of his work: 1932–35, the period in [...]

This is Hans Platschek’s answer to a survey on abstract and nonfigurative art, in which he suggests that signs could be used for didactic goals. But he doesn’t agree with the terms “abstract” and “nonfigurative” because the former is art [...]

This document relates the response of Uruguayan artist Vicente Martín to the survey regarding abstract or non-figurative art, in which he states that abstract values also exist in representational painting. With regard to the future of painting, [...]

This document relates the response of artist Tomás Maldonado to the survey regarding abstract or non-figurative art, in which he considers the term “abstract” to be both appropriate and inappropriate; it is appropriate when it is used to [...]

In this essay, Alfredo Hlito reflects on the particular features of Concrete art. He discusses the viewer’s perception of the meaning of Concrete works of art, which involve neither a process of recognizing objects nor any form of association, but [...]

This document relates the response of Spanish critic Ricardo Gullón to the survey regarding abstract art or non-figurative art, in which he points out that it might be time to revise the use of the term abstract with regard to non-figurative works [...]

This text analyzes the opposition between social realism and abstraction in light of the Parisian debates occurring at the time; it analyzes the application of social realism to art, not in opposition to, but instead in relation to Abstract art. De [...]

These are descriptions and reproductions of some of the comments inscribed by the public on the walls of the “cubo metafísico” [metaphysical cube] during the third exhibition of the Presencia de Los Hartos [We’re Here and We’re Fed Up] [...]

This text describes in French a manifesto by the artists who were members of the Movimiento Madí [Madí Movement], in which they propose the idea of the “invención real” [actual invention]. This is a creation whose aesthetic corresponds as much [...]

The correspondence section of Letra y Línea [Letter and Line] prints two letters: one from Julio E. Payró in response to the comments made by Aldo Pellegrini in the article “Three Painters and a Critic in Krayd,” pubished in the previous issue [...]

Pellegrini's text remarks that during the nineteenth century, Argentine art mainly adapted to academic patterns. For the later evolution of Modern art, the critic adopts a division based on three fundamental periods: first, the artists who absorb [...]

In this essay on the “marvelous,” the term takes on the meaning derived from literature as “a manifestation of imagination’s free creative strength.” The essay also contains the academic concept based on the popular notion that relates the [...]

Pellegrini places Bruno Venier in an intermediate trend, between the extremes whose priority was the object and the purely visual elements. The critic states that his painting–more static than in the previous stage–started becoming freer as [...]

The critic considers that the relevance of Surrealism lies in the fact that it is not an artistic but an ideological movement; it is in art where it finds itself justified. Pellegrini analyzes, among others, several aspects such as humor, desire, [...]

Presentation of Rómulo Macció’s work in which the critic maintains that Macció’s most valuable contribution is creative liberty, a stance the artist kept from his first Surrealist paintings to his Free Abstraction period. Although, when Macci [...]

The critic highlights the fact that—in Roberto Aizenberg’s work—a process of purification was set into motion by three essential elements: space, light, and architecture. Pellegrini points out that technical perfection and impeccable detailing [...]

In this text, Aldo Pellegrini introduces the Luis R. Tomasello exhibition held at Galería Denise René in Paris (November 1962). He emphasizes that the works presented make use of spatial volumes that are subordinated to the plane in which they move [...]

In this text, critic Aldo Pellegrini points out that Rogelio Polesello’s work has begun moving away from an initial tendency toward pure formal spectacle and, now, is approaching the search for spontaneous gesture, although a peculiar sense of [...]

This is the text of an introductory essay for an exhibition of both Figurative and Non-figurative art. In Aldo Pellegrini’s opinion, both alternatives have not only overcome their old enmity but now proclaim the vitality of painting to those who [...]

This introductory text for works by Alfredo Hlito emphasizes how the artist expanded their sensory territory while not abandoning the notion of purely visual painting. Pellegrini also points out that Hlito’s works also divide space into planes in a [...]

In this introductory text for the Noemí Gerstein exhibition, Pellegrini points out that Gerstein’s sculpture not only aspires to develop volume within space, it also seeks to create a surface of pictorial quality. The critic’s analysis places [...]

In this introductory essay for the Abal, Beloso, Lozza exhibition, Aldo Pellegrini points out that Eugenio Abal uses both the rhythmic value of juxtaposed forms and the dynamic action of colors, relying on extremely subtle vibrations and the power of [...]

This is a critical review of the Arte abstracto, del arte figurativo al arte abstracto [Abstract Art, from Figurative Art to Abstract Art] exhibition, which was organized by Léon Degand, the Belgian critic, and presented at the Instituto de Arte [...]

The text continues the analysis of the article “Aire polémico de París” [Polemical Air of Paris] written by Guillermo de Torre on the opposition between socialist realism and abstraction, in light of the debates underway in those days in Paris [...]

This document is the forewod to the Grupo de Artistas Modernos Argentinos [Modern Artists Group of Argentina] exhibition that presented works by the concrete artists Tomás Maldonado, Alfredo Hlito, Enio Iommi, Claudio Girola, Lidy Prati, as well as [...]

In this document Jorge Romero Brest introduces the exhibition Grupo de Artistas Modernos Argentinos [Modern Artists Group of Argentina] at the Stedelijk Museum of Ámsterdam. The exhibition presented works by the Concrete artists Tomás Maldonado, [...]

This article is an introduction to the exhibition, Grupo de Artistas Modernos de la Argentina. Pinturas, esculturas, dibujos [Modern Art Group of Argentina. Paintings, Sculptures, Drawings]. The Concrete artists included in the exhibition were [...]

This foreword by Aldo Pellegrini indicates the changes of direction produced in the period of five years separating the first Arte Nuevo [New Art] exhibition and this sixth show, which he characterizes as a passage from the intellectual to the vital [...]

Aldo Pellegrini’s foreword to the exhibition Arte Nuevo [New Art] (1955) emphasizes that the artist’s mission consists of controlling the energizing value of beauty and in giving it order. He believes that the more the artist controls that energy [...]

This foreword by Pellegrini analyzes the qualities of visual language; it also points out that the nonfigurative modality demonstrates the greatest freedom of spiritual expression yet reached by man. He likewise emphasizes that the visual arts serve [...]

Sofía and Julián Althabe’s presentation points out that the Asociación Arte Nuevo [New Art Association] group brought together all the non-figurative artists who consider themselves part of this denomination. Furthermore, it highlights the fact [...]

While introducing the work of Gyula Kosice, the author refers to movements that sought to create an independent object instead of imitating or deforming one. Juan Bay identifies the difference between the works produced by members of certain [...]

This document analyzes the exhibition “Arte Abstracto, del arte figurativo al arte abstracto” [Abstract Art: from figurative art to abstract art], organized by the Belgian critic Léon Degand and presented at the Instituto de Arte Moderno of [...]

Rodolfo Bruhl reviews Kandinsky’s work and mentions that, as the first artist to produce a nonobjective painting, Kandinsky stressed the relationship between his paintings and absolute music. Bruhl does point out, however, that the triangle of [...]

In this essay, Max Bill analyzes the evolutionary potential of painting-sculpture in the wake of the accomplishments achieved by earlier artists. He places his trust in an art that, underpinned by a broad mathematical base, would not produce a “ [...]

The Swiss artist Max Bill highlights the importance of education in the intellectual and moral development of a society. As background, the writer discusses the proposals of John Ruskin and William Morris, the Weimar Seminar on Arts and Trades, and [...]

The article makes a critical comment about an exhibition that opened on September 14, 1953, in the Galería Krayd, prologized by Julio E. Payró, in which works by Armando Cóppola, Hortensia Parazi, and Maria Deprima were on exhibit. After [...]

Pondering about the convenience of employing the term “abstract” or “concrete” in the visual arts field. Roland points out that when you “abstract,” the expression, idea or symbol is “concretized” in a definite form [...]

This is an open letter written to Jorge Romero Brest, director of the magazine Ver y estimar [See and Ponder], in which Margherita Sarfatti expresses her opinions on Abstract art. Based on the epigraph that introduces the letter, this debate [...]

This document relates the response of Spanish critic Eduardo Westerdahl to the survey regarding abstract art or non-figurative art, in which he considers it opportune to carry out a revision of terms used in these cases. Westerdahl also proposes to [...]

This document is an open letter in which Julio E. Payró declares his difference of opinion with Guillermo de Torre regarding the application of the term “abstract.” This letter responds to the concepts discussed by Torre in the catalog for the [...]