Contesting Modernity ― Informalism in Venezuela 1955-1975

This fascinating exploration of Venezuelan Informalism charts the movement’s history from its beginnings in the mid-1950s to its last manifestations in the 1970s. Essays by an esteemed group of scholars discuss the variety, richness, and complexity of Informalism and examine the ways in which Venezuelan artists embraced many of the abstract, gestural tendencies contemporaneously developed in Abstract Expressionism, Tachism, and Art Informel.

Providing a thorough and comprehensive overview of this artistically fertile, yet underappreciated, movement, this volume highlights the diverse approaches and the wide range of media employed by Informalism’s key practitioners, including Elsa Gramcko, Alberto Brandt, Francisco Hung, Daniel González, and the collective El Techo de la Ballena. Also featured are stunning works by internationally acclaimed figures who experimented with Informalism, such as Alejandro Otero, Carlos Cruz-Diez, and Jesús Rafael Soto. 

Mari Carmen Ramírez is Wortham Curator of Latin American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and founding director of the International Center for the Arts of the Americas.