Contesting modernity : Informalism in Venezuela, 1955-1975 / Mari Carmen Ramírez, Tahía Rivero ; with María C. Gaztambide, Josefina Manrique, Gabriela Rangel.
Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 28, 2018 - January 21, 2019. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
Artists' biographies. María C. Gaztambide and Josefina Manrique -- Surface tensions -- The Informalist avant-garde in Venezuela / Tahía Rivero -- El Techo de la Ballena -- Art from the rearguard in 1960s Venezuela / María C. Gaztambide -- Return to the "Real" -- Elsa Gramcko -- Of things and machines : Elsa Gramcko's journey from the void to the "real" / Mari Carmen Ramírez -- Marginal strategies -- Imagen de Caracas : art as action / Gabriela Rangel -- Chronology / María C. Gaztambide and Josefina Manrique -- Historical texts -- Artists' biographies.
Summary:
This fascinating exploration of Venezuelan Informalism charts the movement's history from its beginnings in the mid-1950s to its last manifestations in the 1970s. Essays by an esteemed group of scholars discuss the variety, richness, and complexity of Informalism and examine the ways in which Venezuelan artists embraced many of the abstract, gestural tendencies contemporaneously developed in Abstract Expressionism, Tachism, and Art Informel. Providing a thorough and comprehensive overview of this artistically fertile, yet underappreciated, movement, this volume highlights the diverse approaches and the wide range of media employed by Informalism's key practitioners, including Elsa Gramcko, Alberto Brandt, Francisco Hung, Daniel Gonzalez, and the collective El Techo de la Ballena. Also featured are stunning works by internationally acclaimed figures who experimented with Informalism, such as Alejandro Otero, Carlos Cruz-Diez, and Jesus Rafael Soto. Exhibition: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA (26.10.2018-27.01.2019).
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.