Sur moderno: Recorridos de la Abstracción —La Donación Patricia Phelps de Cisneros

This volume presents a richly illustrated overview of the significant

cultural transformations propelled by the abstract and

concrete art movements in South America between the mid-

1940s and the late 1970s. Published to accompany a major

exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, the catalogue

features works by artists working in Argentina, Uruguay,

Brazil, and Venezuela—including Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica,

Lygia Pape, Jesús Rafael Soto, Alejandro Otero, and Tomás

Maldonado—who advanced the achievements of geometric

abstraction in the early twentieth century, and built a new

modern vision of the region.

The catalogue highlights a selection of works gifted to MoMA

by Patricia Phelps de Cisneros between 1993 and 2016, which

had a transformative impact on the Museum’s holdings of

Latin American art. The Cisneros collection, which includes

paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, allows for indepth

study of art produced in the region during this period,

allowing the Museum to represent a more comprehensive,

plural, and robust narrative of artistic practices that demonstrate

the integral role of Latin America in the establishment

of modern art.