Beyond Geometry: Experiments in Form, 1940s-70s

In the decades following World War II artists in Europe, North America and South America began experimenting with geometric forms. Rebelling equally against the mathematical purity of earlier geometric modernism and what many saw as the emotional excesses of abstract expressionism and Art Informel, these artists emphasised three-dimensionality, the repetition of modular elements, the conceptual underpinnings of art and the performative to engage the viewer in the creative process and achieve broader intellectual, sensual and emotive range in their work. Beyond Geometry, which accompanies an exhibition at the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, showcases over 200 works by 139 artists that chart the development of these experiments in form. It is noteworthy that artists on three continents began exploring these forms at the same time, often unaware of aesthetic developments elsewhere. Beyond Geometry brings together examples of European and Latin American concrete art, Argentine Arte Madi, Brazilian Neo-Concretism, Kinetic and Op Art, Minimalism and various forms of post-minimalism including systematic forms of process and conceptual art. These movements and genres developed from a co