Geometric abstraction flourished from the 1930s through the 1970s in the art centers of Latin America, notably Buenos Aires, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. Oiticica, who was based in Rio de Janeiro, experimented with geometric abstraction in the late 1950s. Works in the Metaesquemas series are composed of squares and rectangles, usually against a pale background, reflecting the influence of Kazimir Malevich and Piet Mondrian. Arranged in a gridlike structure but without complete regularity, his shapes seem to rhythmically shift and float slightly off the surface of the paper.
Geo/Metric: Prints and Drawings from the Collecion, June 11–August 18, 2008.
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Arte concreto (Brazilian Concrete art)
Two groups interested in Concrete art emerged in the 1950s in the rapidly industrializing country of Brazil. Based in both São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the artists connected to both groups, Grupo Frente and Grupo Ruptura, departed from both abstraction and figuration to create geometric works focused solely on the principles of color, line, and shape.
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