Joaquin Torres-Garcia: The Arcadian Modern

Description

Joaquin Torres-Garcia (Uruguayan, 1874-1949) is one of the most complex and emblematic modern masters from the first half of the 20th century, whose work determined transformational paths for modern art on both sides of the Atlantic. Manifesting a profound impulse toward the avant-garde as much as the primitive, and stressing a schematic impulsion alongside a permanent fascination with the notion of utopia, he participated in some of the most crucial intellectual and artistic discussions of the past century. His personal involvement with a significant number of early Modern and avant-garde movements, from Catalan Noucentismo to Cubism, Ultraism- Vibrationism, and Neo-Plasticism, make him an unparalleled figure in the history of modernism in the Americas. Published in conjunction with the first major, all-inclusive retrospective of the artist's work in the US since the 1970s, this richly illustrated publication presents Torres-Garcia's long and wide-ranging career, from the late 19th century to the 1940s, and includes drawings, paintings, objects and sculptures. Combining a chronological presentation with a thematic approach, the book is organized into five separate essays with interspersed plates, following an illustrated chronology and an extensive bibliography.

Luis Perez-Oramas is the Estrellita Brodsky Curator of Latin American Art at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Alexander Alberro is professor of Art History and Department Chair at Barnard College in New York. Sergio Chejfec is a novelist and has published numerous works of fiction and essays. He teaches in the Creative Writing in Spanish Program at the New York University. Estrella de Diego is a curator and professor of Contemporary Art at the Complutense University, Madrid (UCM), and a regular columnist for Spanish newspaper El Pais. Geaninne Gutierrez-Guimaraes is a Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Drawings and Prints at MoMA.

This indispensable book follows the peripatetic artist through his variegated career, beginning in Barcelona at the turn of the twentieth century, and then moving on to Paris, New York, Madrid, and many points between.--Christopher Lyon "Bookforum" Torres-Garcia's own oeuvre looks as fresh today as the work of any of his progeny... The depth of his work and the stories behind it are handsomely represented in this exhibition and the five essays in the indispensible catalogue.--Stephen Westfall "Art in America"