Author Description

The first flowering of abstract art in the Southern Hemisphere occurred in the 1930s in the capital cities on the banks of the Rio de la Plata: Montevideo, Uruguay, & Buenos Aires, Argentina. More specifically, in 1933, Juan del Prete exhibited his non-objective paintings & collages in Buenos Aries, Argentina thus beginning two decades of groundbreaking activity. Abstract Art from the Rio de la Plata 1933-1953 is the first major monograph published in the United States to look at this crucial moment in the history of modern art in Latin America. The highly innovative works featured here include eccentric collages, cut-out canvasses, & sculptures & reliefs with moveable elements. Artists include Juan del Prete, Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Martin Blaszko, Alfredo Hlito, Enio Iommi, Gyula Kosice, Esteban Lisa, Raul Lozza, Tomas Maldonado, Lidy Prati, Carmelo Arden Quin, Maria Freire, Rhod Rothfuss. Also feature in the volume are essays by scholars from Argentina & Uruguay on contemporaneous developments in the Rio de la Plata, including literature, architecture, & urbanism.