Sites of Latin American Abstraction: Selections of the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection. CIFO Art Space, Miami

December 6, 2006- March 4, 2007

Curator: Juan Ledezma

Artists featured in exhibition: Geraldo de Barros, Feliza Bursztyn, Amílcar de Castro, Lygia Clark, León Ferrari, Alfredo Hlito, Julio Le Parc, Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Pape, Mercedes Pardo, Alejandro Puente, Mira Schendel, Joaquín Torres-García, and Alfredo Volpi.

Sites of Abstraction proposed a mapping of the geometric traditions in the region.

One hundred fifty one works of art: drawings, paintings, sculpture and photography were displayed according to unexpected visual and structural analogies, including an important and mostly unknown selection of modernist photography from Latin America.

Introduction – The Sites of Latin American Abstraction

The Sites of Latin American Abstraction, curated by Juan Ledezma, inaugurates the second edition of shows stemming from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection at cifo.

This exhibition, which draws on an important area of the collection—abstract-geometric art from Latin America—proposes a mapping of the geometric traditions in the continent, from the perspective of establishing a sense of cultural identity through abstraction.

It is striking that, beginning with Joaquín Torres-García in the 1930s, artists in Latin America—specifically, in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela—decided that geometric abstraction should be the vehicle for forging a new, modern sense of identity in a continent with strong cultural roots. At its core, geometric abstract art is nonrepresentational, the deployment of simple geometric shapes in nonillusionistic space. It proposes to be an art that refers to itself, to the space and surface contained within the picture plane or sculptural form. Ledezma addresses how a sense of cultural identity may stem from diverse forms of geometric abstraction, both aesthetically and conceptually. He deals with the contradictions of an artistic project that attempts to form a specifically Latin American identity using an artistic language that is neither based on inherited local traditions, nor associated with a narrative of identity. According to Ledezma, it is precisely “because of that disjunction that the idea of forging a distinct, specifically Latin American identity…could arise as a project.”

This exhibition does not occur in a vacuum. In recent years we have witnessed important international shows that addressed the abstract-geometric tradition in Latin America. The fact remains, however, that this rich and complex artistic tradition is still widely unknown, especially if we compare it to the vast and long-standing awareness, through exhibitions and publications, of the abstract-geometric traditions both in Europe and in the United States. We hope with this exhibition to contribute to its further dissemination. 

The Sites of Latin American Abstraction is unusual in the fact that, on the one hand, it is strongly grounded in academic research, and on the other, it proposes an unorthodox and dynamic museographical display. Ledezma presents three concrete sites of abstraction: the grid, writing, and public space. But these sites are neither presented in separate and well-defined spaces, nor are they arranged chronologically, geographically, or by media. One hundred forty-six artworks, ranging from drawings to painting, sculpture, and photography, are presented according to unexpected visual structural analogies that offer both new approaches to looking at the geometric abstract art from Latin America, and an alternative way of presenting a historical exhibition.

It has been a pleasure to work with Juan Ledezma and, together, to broaden the collection with new acquisitions, and to present this exciting exhibition of works drawn from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection. We hope that it will not only promote the awareness of the richness and importance of Latin American abstract-geometric art, but also offer our audiences an inspiring aesthetic experience.

We extend our thanks to Juan Ledezma for curating this important exhibition, and to our team at cifo for their dedication and professionalism. 

Cecilia Fajardo-Hill

Director and Chief Curator, cifo

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[1] Inverted Utopias: Avant-garde Art in Latin America, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, 2004; Beyond Geometry: Experiments in Form 1940s-70s, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (?); 2004; Force Fields…..MACBA, Barcelona, 2004 (?); are some of the most recent important exhibitions touching on the subject of Abstract Geometric art in Latin America.