The exhibition “Southern Geometries, from Mexico to Patagonia” at Paris’ Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain revisits the vibrant styles in geometric art of Latin America made by over 70 artists from the Pre-Columbian period to the present (to February 24, 2019).
Including modernist abstract art, sculpture and architecture as well as ceramics and weaving, the exhibition explores the wide range of approaches to geometric abstraction in Latin America, whether influenced by Pre-Columbian art, the European avant-garde or Amerindian cultures.
The exhibition opens with a spectacular “salle des fete” designed by the Bolivian architect, Freddy Mamani, whose work is inspired by the geometric motifs characteristic of Tiwanaku culture and Andean village festivals. In the neighboring gallery, Paraguayan architects Solano Benítez and Gloria Cabral (winners of the Golden Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016) use panels of shattered bricks and concrete to create a monumental work based on the principle of repetition.
Presented in the same gallery are intricate wire sculptures by the Venezuelan artist Gego (1912-1994). The lower level galleries feature more than 220 works from a variety of cultures and time periods, connecting the ancient with the contemporary, modernist art with Amerindian culture.
The Cartier foundation for contemporary art is located on Boulevard Raspail in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. The stunning glass building designed by architect Jean Nouvel blurs the boundary between interior and exterior space. The foundation hosts major contemporary art exhibitions in a variety of media as well as special events known as Soirées Nomades (Nomadic Nights).
Géométries Sud du Mexique à la Terre de Feu, to February 24, 2019, Paris