Under the direction of Cecilia De Torres
Assisted by Susanna V. Temkin, Madeline Murphy Turner, and Victoria L. Fedrigotti
Catalogue Entry
1932.10 (estate: 876)
Constructif avec formes primitives
Alternate title: Composition
1932
Oil on canvas
50 x 34 1/2 in. (127 x 88 cm)
Signed lower left: J. Torres GARCIA; dated lower center: 32
Provenance
Exhibitions
Museo Torres-García, Montevideo, Uruguay, March 1959, no. 1, ill.
V São Paulo Bienal, Brazil, Sala Torres-García, September–December 1959, no. 11. Traveled to: Centro de Artes y Letras de El País, Montevideo, Uruguay, March 21–April 17, 1960.
Rose Fried Gallery, New York, J. Torres-García, Paintings from 1930-1949, March 1–26, 1960, no. 5, ill.
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Joaquín Torres-García, December 1961–January 1962, no. 10, ill., on cover. Traveled to: Staatliche Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden, Germany, March 2–April 1, 1962.
Royal Marks Gallery, New York, J. Torres-García, Paintings, 1931 - 1946/Oceanic Art, March 29–April 26, 1969, no. 8, ill.
The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Joaquín Torres García 1874-1949, October 2–November 1, 1970, no. 25, ill., p. 58. Traveled to: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, December 12, 1970–January 31, 1971; Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, February 16–March 31, 1971.
Center for Inter-American Relations, New York, Looking South: Latin American Art in New York Collections, May 16–July 28, 1972, no. 38, ill.
Hayward Gallery, London, Torres-García: Grid-Pattern-Sign: Paris-Montevideo 1924-1944, November 14, 1985–February 23, 1986, no. 55, ill., p. 54. Traveled to: Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain, March 13–May 4, 1986; Stadtische Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, Germany, June 28–August 17, 1986; Center for the Fine Arts, Miami, September 14–November 9, 1986; Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas, February 14–April 5, 1987.
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, J. Torres-García, June 18–August 21, 1991, no. 82, ill., p. 124. Traveled to: Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) Centre Julio González, Spain, September 5–November 10, 1991.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C., Crosscurrents of Modernism: Four Latin American Pioneers: Diego Rivera; Joaquín Torres-García; Wifredo Lam; Matta, June 11–September 7, 1992, no. 35, ill., p. 136.
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Art d'Amérique latine: 1911- 1968, November 12, 1992–January 11, 1993.
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century, June 6–September 7, 1993, no. 214, ill., p. 354. Traveled to: Plaza de Armas, Sevilla, Spain, August 11–October 12, 1992 (See separate entry); Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, November 12–January 11, 1992 (See separate entry); Museum Ludwig,, Cologne, February 8–April 25, 1993 (See separate entry).
Cecilia de Torres, Ltd, New York, Joaquín Torres-García 1874-1949, Summer 1995, no. 14.
Ramis Barquet / Robert Miller Gallery, New York, Latin American Masters, 1997.
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Heterotopias: Medio siglo sin-lugar: 1918-1968, December 12, 2000–November 27, 2001, ill., p. 147.
Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas, Inverted Utopias, Avant-Garde Art in Latin America, June 20–September 12, 2004, no. 20, ill., p. 33.
The Art Institute of Chicago, February 26–October 1, 2014.
Published References
Cassou, Jean. "Un apôtre; Torres-García." XXième Siécle (Paris), no. 13 (Noël 1959), as Composition.
de Torre, Guillermo. 37 Obras Comprendidas en el Período 1929-1947. Montevideo: Museo Torres García, 1959, ill. no. 21 and cover.
Suro, Darío. "Torres García." ¡Ahora! (Santo Domingo) año III, no. 67 (July 20, 1964), ill. p. 52.
Suro, Darío. "El Universalismo Constructivo de Torres-García." Américas vol. 17, no. 5 (March 1965), ill. p. 26.
Messer, Thomas M. The Emergent Decade, Latin American Painters and Painting in the 60s. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1966. Exhibition catalogue, ill. p. 28.
Bantel, Linda. The Alice M. Kaplan Collection. Jamestown, RI: Brandywine Press, Inc., 1980, ill. p. 202, no. 95.
Gradowczyk, Mario H. Joaquín Torres-García, Artistas de América. Buenos Aires: Ediciones de Arte Gaglianone, 1985, ill. p. 52, no. 33.
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Medio siglo sin-lugar- 1918-1968. Madrid, 2001. Exhibition catalogue, ill. p. 146.
Gradowczyk, Mario H. Torres-García: Utopía y Transgresión. Montevideo: Fundación Torres-García, 2007. Exhibition catalogue, ill. p. 197, no. 6.29.
Constructing a Poetic Universe: The Diane and Bruce Halle Collection of Latin American Art. Houston: Museum of Fine Arts Houston, 2007, ill. p. 255.
Phoenix Art Museum. Order, Chaos, and the Space Between: Contemporary Latin American Art from the Diane and Bruce Halle Collection. 2012. Exhibition catalogue, ill. fig 2, p. 41.
Record last updated May 27, 2015. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: de Torres, Cecilia, Susanna V. Temkin, Madeline Murphy Turner, and Victoria L. Fedrigotti. "Constructif avec formes primitives, 1932 (1932.10)." In Joaquín Torres-García Catalogue Raisonné. www.torresgarcia.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=1120 (accessed on April 26, 2025).