loading loading
Under the direction of Cecilia De Torres
Assisted by Susanna V. Temkin, Madeline Murphy Turner, and Victoria L. Fedrigotti
← Register / Login

Catalogue Entry

enlarge
Explore Catalogue Entries
Medium: Oil
Support: On wood
Year: 1931
1934.09 (estate: 954)
Objet plastique (Composition)
Alternate title: Composición
1931–34
Oil and nails on wood
20 1/4 x 16 3/8 x 3 1/2 in. (52 x 42 x 9 cm)
Signed verso: J. Torres-GARCIA; Dated on verso: Dic 31-34
Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM), Spain
Provenance
Estate of the artist
Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM), Spain
Exhibitions
1974 Museo de Arte Precolombino
Museo de Arte Precolombino, Colección Matto, Montevideo, Uruguay, Exposición Homenaje a Joaquín Torres-García: Juguetes, Objetos de Arte, Maderas, October 1974, no. 72.
1981 Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, Inc.
Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, Inc, New York, Joaquín Torres-García - Paintings, Constructions and Drawings, September 9–October 3, 1981. (Salander-O'Reilly Gallery 1981), no. 25, ill.
1984 Gimpel Fils
Gimpel Fils, London, Joaquín Torres-García: Paintings & Constructions, June 19–July 14, 1984. (Stellweg 1984), no. 20.
1985–86b Hayward Gallery
Hayward Gallery, London, Torres-García: Grid-Pattern-Sign: Paris-Montevideo 1924-1944, November 14, 1985–February 23, 1986, no. 66, ill., p. 63. 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.
1988 Galerie Gmurzynska
Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne, Fläche-Figur-Raum: Skulptur Relief Collage, April 29–July 20, 1988, ill., p. 230-231.
1990b IVAM
Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) Centre Julio González, Spain, Arte Abstracto, Arte Concreto: Paris, Cercle et Carré, 1930, September 20–December 2, 1990, no. 21, ill., p. 53.
1991 Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, J. Torres-García, June 18–August 21, 1991, no. 51, ill., p. 91. Traveled to: Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) Centre Julio González, Spain, September 5–November 10, 1991.
1992 Fundación La Caixa
Fundación La Caixa, La Pedrera, Barcelona, Spain, Las Vanguardias en Catalunya 1906-1939, July 16–September 30, 1992, no. 154, ill., p. 72 and 211.
1992 Plaza de Armas
Plaza de Armas, Sevilla, Artistas Latinoamericanos del siglo XX, August 11–October 12, 1992.
1992–93 Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Art d'Amérique latine: 1911- 1968, November 12, 1992–January 11, 1993, ill., p. 332.
1993 Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art, New York, Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century, June 6–September 7, 1993, no. 217, ill., p. 356. 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).
1994 XXII Bienal Internacional de São Paulo
XXII Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, Brazil, Joaquín Torres-García, October 12–December 10, 1994, no. 48, ill., p. 45.
1996 Museo de Pontevedra
Museo de Pontevedra, Spain, J.Torres-García, obra constructiva, August–September 1996, no. 29, ill.
1997 Musée de la Ville de Paris
Musée de la Ville de Paris, France, Années 30 en Europe: Le Temps Menaçant 1929-1939, February 20–May 25, 1997, ill., p. 285.
1999 Museo Ramón Gaya
Museo Ramón Gaya, Murcia, Joaquín Torres-García: Óleos, dibujos, esculturas y juguetes, March 1–May 12, 1999, ill.
2002–03 Museo Colecciones ICO
Museo Colecciones ICO, Madrid, Joaquín Torres-García: Un Mundo Construido, October 22, 2002–January 6, 2003, ill., p. 171.
2006–07 Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Esteban Vicente
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Esteban Vicente, Segovia, Spain, Vasos Comunicantes: Vanguardias Latinoamericanas y Europa: 1900-1950, December 20, 2006–February 18, 2007, ill., p. 128.
2008 IVAM
Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) Centre Julio González, Valencia, Spain, La abstracción en la colección del IVAM, July 31–December 7, 2008, ill., p. 31.
2008–09 Fundção de Arte Moderna e Contemporânea
Fundção de Arte Moderna e Contemporânea, Coleção Berardo, Lisbon, Spain, A Intuição e a Estrutura/La Intuición y la Estructura: De Torres-García a Vieira da Silva 1929-1949, December 4, 2008–January 25, 2009, ill., p. 99. Traveled to: Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) Centre Julio González, Valencia, Spain, February 24–April 19, 2009.
2009a IVAM
Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) Centre Julio González, Valencia, Spain, La estructura en la coleccion del IVAM, February 5–May 3, 2009, ill., p. 41.
2009–10 The Menil Collection
The Menil Collection, Houston, Joaquín Torres-García: Constructing Abstraction with Wood, September 25, 2009–January 3, 2010. (Ramírez 2009); (The Menil Collection 2010), no. 74, ill., p. 72. Traveled to: San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, February 20–May 3, 2010.
Published References
Sureda 1995
Sureda, Joan. Catalunya genio a genio: del siglo XI al siglo XXI. Barcelona: El Mundo de Cataluña, ill. p. 180, as Composición.
Olmo 1997
Olmo, Santiago B. "XXIV Pontevedra Biennal." Art Nexus (January-March 1997), ill. p. 88.
IVAM 1998
Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno (IVAM) Centre Julio Gonzales,. Aladdin Toys, Los juguetes de Torres-García. Valencia: 1998. Exhibition catalogue, ill. p. 48, fig. 1.
Maslach 1998
Maslach, Adolfo. Joaquín Torres-García: sol y luna del arcano. Caracas: UNESCO, 1998, ill. detail p. 353, no. 198.
Curtis 1999
Curtis, Penelope. Sculpture 1900-1945 After Rodin. Oxford History of Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, ill. p. 132.
Bernárdez 2001
Bernárdez, Carmen, ed. The collection of the IVAM. Madrid: Aldeasa, 2001, ill. p. 113.
El País 2003
"Cronología." "Especial Torres García." El País (Montevideo), December 12, 2003, ill. p. 13.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 2004
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Inverted Utopias, Avant-Garde Art in Latin America. Houston, 2004. Exhibition catalogue, ill. p. 194, fig. 4.
Gradowczyk 2007
Gradowczyk, Mario H. Torres-García: Utopía y Transgresión. Montevideo: Fundación Torres-García, 2007. Exhibition catalogue, ill. p. 119, no. 4.32. .
Sullivan 2007
Sullivan, Edward J. The Language of Objects in the Art of the Americas. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007, ill. p. 178.
Centro Cultural de España 2010
Centro Cultural de España. Carmelo Arden Quin/ La Vanguardia Rioplatense. Montevideo, 2010. Exhibition catalogue, ill. p. 20.
Sanchez Vidal 2012
Sanchez Vidal, Agustin. Joaquín Torres-García. Madrid: Fundacio MAPFRE Instituto de Cultura, 2012, ill. p. 32.
Amor 2016
Amor, Mónica. Theories of the Nonobject: Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, 1944-1969. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2016, Plate 6.
Record last updated May 12, 2016. 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. "Objet plastique (Composition), 1931–34 (1934.09)." In Joaquín Torres-García Catalogue Raisonné. www.torresgarcia.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=1328 (accessed on September 15, 2025).