Sur moderno: Journeys of Abstraction: The Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Gift

Description

Presents highlights from the transformative gift of nearly 150 works of modern art from Latin America offered to The Museum of Modern Art by Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Sur moderno: Journeys of Abstraction presents a richly illustrated overview of the significant cultural transformations propelled by the abstract and concrete art movements in South America between the mid-1940s and the late 1970s. Published to accompany a major exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, the catalogue features works by artists working in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Venezuela - including Lygia Clark, Helio Oiticica, Lygia Pape, Jesus Rafael Soto, Alejandro Otero and Tomas Maldonado - who advanced the achievements of geometric abstraction in the early twentieth century, and built a new modern vision of the region. The catalogue highlights a selection of works gifted to MoMA by Patricia Phelps de Cisneros between 1993 and 2016, which had a transformative impact on the Museum's holdings of Latin American art. The Cisneros collection, which includes paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, allows for in-depth study of art produced in the region during this period, allowing the Museum to represent a more comprehensive, plural, and robust narrative of artistic practices that demonstrate the integral role of Latin America in the establishment of modern art.

Ines Katzenstein is Curator of Latin American Art and Director of the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Research Institute for the Study of Art from Latin America at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Maria Amalia Garcia is Consulting Curator at Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas (CONICET)-Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Irene Small is Assistant Professor in the Department of Art & Archaeology, Princeton University. Monica Amor is Professor of Global Modern and Contemporary Art at MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art). Karen Grimson is Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Drawings and Prints, The Museum of Modern Art.

This book traces the ways in which abstraction developed and peaked in midcentury Latin America, radically transforming the story of modern art.--Liz Hartman "Publishers Weekly"