"Realismo magico" (magic realism) - that peculiar literary genre in which a story that sounds real and likely to happen, suddenly turns into something fantastic, legendary and improbable - is what will immediately come to the mind of those visitors of the "Radical Geometry" exhibition who harbour a passion for South American literature.
Currently on in the Sackler Wing of the Royal Academy in London, "Radical Geometry: Modern Art of South America from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection" focuses indeed on a series of artists who developed an innovative visual language that at times tricks the eye, creating optical and experimental effects revolving around colour, illusions, volatility, dynamism, movement and the possibility of playing with new materials to come up with interactive and kinetic pieces.
Bringing together around 90 works from the Phelps de Cisneros collection and curated by Adrian Locke and Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro, "Radical Geometry" opens with Uruguayan artist Joaquín Torres-García, the founder of Constructive Universalism.
Torres-García is famous for his illustration "América invertida" (Inverted Map of South America, 1943), in which he affirmed the importance of South America, placing it upside down and locating the south in the north, hoping the continent could prove as a place of experimentation. Torres-García mainly worked with symbols and with boxed compartments, but other artists employed different methods to express their creativity in an experimental and avant-garde key.
Juan Melé and Tomás Maldonado, Argentine artists in Buenos Aires, used colours and geometric abstractions (and Maldonado became known in later years for establishing himself in Milan and developing with Gui Bonsiepe a system of codes for Olivetti and for department store La Rinascente); German refugee Gego (real name Gertrude Goldschmidt) proved it is possible to draw without paper by using wires, washers, strings and found objects and create unique mobiles.
Though he later on moved onto experiments with lights and neons, Gyula Kosice also created kinetic figures and his "Mobile Articulated Sculpture" (1948), consisting in a brass strip structure, looks as if it were floating in the air.
Among the highlights of the event there are sculptural pieces like Jesús Rafael Soto's works, capable of creating in the viewer a sense of dizziness: his "Nylon Cube" made of hundreds of dyed nylon strings anchored to white blocks on the ceiling and on the floor has the power to profoundly alter the view of the spectators; Franz Weissmann's totem-like "Neo-Concrete Column", Willys de Castro's "Active Object", an hybrid work of art suspended between sculpture and painting, and Lygia Clark's "Machine" pieces could probably lead to interesting inspirations in the creation of fashion accessories. Clark's series of silver/gold aluminium origami combines indeed industrial design and elegance in a perfect mathematical equation.
The event - that features many more artists, including Alfredo Hlito, Geraldo de Barros, Hélio Oiticica (also known for his works made of fabric and plastic that could be worn like colourful costumes), and Lygia Pape, a key artist in Brazilian art history, known for her mesmerising rigour - closes with Carlos Cruz-Diez's "Physichromie No. 500". The latter is a visually powerful piece, a Casein paint on PVC and acrylic on plywood sheets that transforms under the eyes of the visitors with its deep reds turning into yellows and greens.
"Radical Geometry" is a great way to discover a group of South American artists (some of us may not be too familiar with) who were inspired by European and Russian Constructivists, but it is highly recommended for everyone who is into geometry, abstractions, colour and has a passion for finding new ways to connect the viewer and spectator to the artwork.
"Radical Geometry: Modern Art of South America from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection", is at The Royal Academy, London, UK, until 28th September 2014.
Image credits for this post
1. Juan Mele, Irregular Frame No. 2, 1946
Oil on plywood, 71.1 x 50.2 x 2.5 cm
Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
c. the Estate of Juan Mele
2. Joaquin Torres-Garcia
Construction in White and Black, 1938
Oil on paper mounted on wood, 80.7 x 101.9 cm
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honour of David Rockefeller, 2004.
Photo Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
3. Lygia Clark
Machine â Medium, 1962
Golden aluminum, approx. 48.2 x 66.1 x 61 cm
Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
c. The World of Lygia Clark Cultural Association
4. Lygia Pape
Untitled (from the series Weaving), 1959
Woodcut on paper, 24.4 x 24.8 cm
Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
c. Projeto Lygia Pape
5. Alfredo Hlito
Chromatic Rhythms II, 1947
Oil on canvas, 69.9 x 70.2 cm
Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
Copyright Sonia Henriquez Urena de Hlito
6. Gego (Gertrude Goldschmidt)
Sphere, 1976
Stainless steel, 99.1 x 91.4 x 88.9 cm
Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
c. Fundacion Gego
7. Carlos Cruz-Diez
Physichromie No. 500, 1970
Casein paint on PVC and acrylic on plywood sheets, 183 x 484 x 8 cm
Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
c. ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2014
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