Order and Illusion: The Geometry of Art

September 21, 2024 - January 5, 2025

Geometric abstraction emerged from a natural progression of the work of the Cubists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in the early 20th century. While the Cubists were concerned with breaking down elements of real life into simpler forms, a new movement known as Non-Objective Art strove to be purely non-representational – colors, shapes, and textures with no emulation of real life.

Inspired by the work of Greek philosopher Plato, who said that geometry is the highest form of beauty, non-objective artists strove to visualize these ideas of purity and simplicity. Artists of the 1960s continued to push the boundaries of these concepts, championing the development of Minimalism, a new abstract art movement that maintained the idea that art should have its own reality and not try to imitate something else.

Including over 40 works from The Museum’s Permanent Collection, Order and Illusion: The Geometry of Art will explore the evolution of geometric art through the 1960s to the present day.

Featured artists will include Victor Vasarely, Harry Bertoia, Edna Andrade, Ellsworth Kelly, Donald Judd, Richard Anuszkiewicz, and Helen Gerardia. This exhibition will be on display in The Museum’s Works on Paper Gallery on the Ground Floor from September 21, 2024 to January 5, 2025.