Joaquín Torres-García

Construction with Curved Forms

1931

Oil and nails on wood

On view MoMA, Floor 5, 512 The David Geffen Wing

In this relief, the roughness of the wood is emphasized and the nails holding it together have been left visible. These protruding, rough-hewn parts are carefully composed to create interrelated spaces on a backboard that also functions as a frame for the component parts. In the 1940s, young artists in Uruguay and Argentina were influenced by Torres-García’s ideas and used his principles of construction to push for new developments in geometric art.

Gallery label from

2020

Gallery label from Sur moderno: Journeys of Abstraction—The Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Gift , October 21, 2019–March 14, 2020

Inspired by vernacular crafts, Torres-García emphasized the handmade quality of this relief made with unvarnished wood, the nails holding it together left unconcealed. The work’s protruding, rough-hewn parts are, however, carefully composed. “The surface [of my constructions] will be divided,” Torres-García stipulated; “those divisions will determine spaces, those spaces must have a rapport.”

Provenance Research Project

This work is included in the Provenance Research Project, which investigates the ownership history of works in MoMA's collection.

Estate of the artist, Montevideo [1]; Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva; sold to Galeria Dr. Schlegel, Zurich, by 1991 until at least 1994 [2]; sold to Private collection, Zurich, by 2002 until at least 2009 [3]. Galerie Gmurzynska, Zug, Switzerland, by 2012; purchased by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, November 2012 [4].

[1] Enric Jardi, Torres Garcia, Second Edition, Ediciones Poligrafia, Barcelona 1987, p. 177, no. 237: "Propriedad de la familla Torres Garcia."
[2] Chirino Torner, "Joaquin Torres-Garcia," Revista Trimestral del Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia no. 7 (Primavera/verano 1991), p. 3: "Galerie Dr. Schlegl, Zurich." Richard W. Gassen and Bernhard Holeczek, ed. Die neue Wirklichkeit: Abstraktion als Weltentwurf, exh. cat. Ludwigshafen: Hack Museum, 1994, p. 180: Galerie Dr. Istvan Schlegel, Zurich."
[3] Emmanuel Guignon, ed. Joaquin Torres-Garcia: un monde construit, exh. cat. Strasbourg: Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain, 2002, p. 248: "Küsnacht, collection particulière." Margit Rowell, Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Ediciones Poligrafia, Barcelona 2009, p. 70: "Private collection, Zurich."
[4] Agreement of Sale, November 8, 2012, in: collection files 1787.2012, Department of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Provenance research is a work in progress, and is frequently updated with new information. If you have any questions or information to provide about the listed works, please email [email protected] or write to:

Provenance Research Project
The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
New York, NY 10019

Medium Oil and nails on wood
Dimensions 19 1/2 x 16 1/8 x 1/2" (49.5 x 41 x 1.3 cm)
Credit Given anonymously
Object number 1787.2012
Department Painting & Sculpture

Explore more

Joaquín Torres-García

Joaquín Torres-García

Uruguayan, 1874–1949 13 works online

The Uruguayan-born artist Joaquín Torres García was 60 years old when he returned to his native country in 1934, after living abroad in Spain, France, Italy, and the United States for more than four decades.

Learn more →
All works by Joaquín Torres-García →

From MoMA Design Store

Installation views

We have identified this work in the following photos from our exhibition history.

How we identified these works
In 2018–19, MoMA collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a project using machine learning to identify artworks in installation photos. That project has concluded, and works are now being identified by MoMA staff.

If you notice an error, please contact us at [email protected].
Licensing
To reproduce installation views, please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations). You will need to include the object identification number found in the caption.
Feedback
This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please send feedback to [email protected].

Licensing

Artwork or archival images

If you would like to reproduce an image of a work of art in MoMA's collection, or an image of a MoMA publication or archival material (including installation views, checklists, and press releases), please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations).

Audio and film clips

MoMA licenses archival audio and select out of copyright film clips from our film collection. At this time, MoMA produced video cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. All requests to license archival audio or out of copyright film clips should be addressed to Scala Archives at [email protected]. Motion picture film stills cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. For access to motion picture film stills for research purposes, please contact the Film Study Center at [email protected]. For more information about film loans and our Circulating Film and Video Library, please visit Circulating Film and Video Library.

Text from a publication or the archives

If you would like to reproduce text from a MoMA publication, please email [email protected]. If you would like to publish text from MoMA's archival materials, please fill out this permission form and send to [email protected].

Feedback

This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please fill out this feedback form.