Radical Geometry: Modern Art of South America from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection – Royal Academy of Arts

I attended the new exhibition at the Royal Academy on the hottest day of the year. After sweltering in the heat, it was a relief to step into the cool, dark Sackler Wing of Galleries in Burlington House to see Radical Geometry: Modern Art of South America from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection.

Radical Geometry looks at the original and radical art of South America over the last 100 years. In the early to mid-20th century, artists from the region began to innovate and pioneer a new visual language to evoke their beliefs about art. In the beginning this coincided with a sense of optimism in the region, with a strong economy and progressive politics dominating. Cities across South America began to see themselves as an integral part of the world, not on the periphery. However, artists from these cities did vary as to their approaches to art.

In Buenos Aires, artists were often political, with strong left-wing leanings expressed in their art. In Brazil as a whole, many had an intellectual focus and also worked with poets, while Venezuelan artists integrated their work with buildings. In Montevido, capital of Uruguay, Joaquín Torres García blended pre-Colombian art with European avant-garde to create a unique style, though in Argentina he was seen as old-fashioned, with many artists rejecting traditional models (Rhod Rothfuss, for instance, rejected the traditional picture frame); several of these were Marxists. In Brazil, great changes during the 1950s and 1960s meant the creation of new wealth, and there was a rivalry between up-and-coming São Paulo and former capital Rio de Janeiro. The first Biennial Exhibition outside of Venice was held in São Paulo in 1951.

Abstract-style art isn’t normally my thing, but I found the clean lines and shapes really restful after coming in to the cool gallery from an extremely hot and sunny courtyard. I found a lot of the exhibition really thought-provoking – I had never considered, for instance, why paintings have square or rectangular frames (except for the odd round artwork), and that they could be framed differently. I also loved the sculptures, such as Sphere (1976) by Gego (Gertrude Goldschmidt). My favourite piece, though, was Physichromie No. 500 (1970) by Carlos Cruz-Diez, which seemed to change colour as I walked past it.

This wasn’t my usual sort of exhibition, but I really enjoyed learning about South American art and how it reflected the wider societal ambitions and beliefs of the artists. It is definitely worth visiting – it runs until 28 September.

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