The Shadow of Color

Works by four pioneering artists who, though active in different places and periods, developed similar visual languages, are brought together for the first time to shed new light on 20th-century abstract art. Otto Freundlich – theoretician, political activist, painter, and sculptor – belonged to the first generation of abstract artists, working alongside Braque and Picasso; Len Lye, a multi-disciplinary artist from New Zealand, was a pioneer of animated film-making; Brazilian painter and installation artist Lygia Clark created innovative interactive works; and Blinky Palermo was known for his “fabric paintings.” For all four, form, color, and shadow lay at the heart of their work, blurring the boundary between two-dimensional and three-dimensional art.

Otto Freundlich, Composition, 1935, Gouache on paper on wood panel, Musée de Pontoise, France, Donation FreundlichInv. DOF.1968.1.18 – Wvz. 179© Musée de Pontoise