SUR MODERNO - JOURNEYS OF ABSTRACTION

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, Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Pape, Jesús Rafael Soto, Alejandro Otero and Tomás 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.