Author Description

Constant Nieuwenhuys (1920?2005) is known as the spiritual father of the international Cobra group and as the artist behind the New Babylon project. This publication adds a third influential period to Constant?s artistic practice: the 1950s. At this time, a radical transformation took place in Constant?s work. The path he followed from Cobra to New Babylon was crucial to his development as a visual artist, yet this evolution has never before been the main subject of a publication. In the 1950s, the fantasy figures of Cobra were followed by abstract painting, an exploration of a?synthesis of the arts?, a study into the effects of space and colour, a transition from the two-dimensional to the three-dimensional plane, the New Babylon project, and ultimately a return to the essence of the art of painting with the?colorist experiments?, from 1969 until his death in 2005. The voice of the artist himself resonates through this publication in the form of a selection of texts he wrote during this specific period. They provide a glimpse into the radical transformation he was undergoing. Constant?s legacy is a source of inspiration and reference for an international community of art historians, curators, collectors, artists and architects. 0.