Gego: Measuring Infinity

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 02 May 2023
Publisher: Guggenheim Museum Publications,U.S.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1912, Gego was exposed to the countrys rich cultural heritage from an early age. Her father, a German immigrant, was a prominent architect who designed many of the citys iconic buildings, including the National Museum of Fine Arts and the University of Carabobo. Gego was deeply influenced by her fathers work and began to explore the intersection of art and architecture in her own artistic practice.

In the early 1950s, Gego began to experiment with abstraction, using organic forms and linear structures to create her unique works of delicate suspense. Her sculptures, drawings, prints, artists books, textiles, and installations were characterized by their intricate patterns and geometric shapes, which often seemed to float effortlessly in space.

Gego was deeply influenced by the architectural and engineering traditions of her home country, and her work often incorporated elements of these disciplines into her art. She was particularly interested in the way buildings interacted with their surroundings and the way light and shadow played on their surfaces.

Gego was a pioneering artist in the field of Latin American modernism, and her work was widely exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. However, she remains little known in the US today, despite her unique and striking formal and conceptual contributions.

This expansive, definitive catalog charts the evolution of Gegos singular approach to abstraction through organic forms, linear structures, and systematic spatial investigations. Featuring nearly 300 images, including more than 160 sculptures, drawings, prints, artists books, textiles, and installations made between the early 1950s and the early 1990s, this volume also presents 11 illustrated essays by experts in the field of modern and contemporary Latin American art that trace Gegos artistic development across various mediums and disciplines, including her significant contributions to architecture and design; ground her practice in various art movements that materialized in Latin America, Europe, and the US during her lifetime; and consider the pedagogical influence of her two-decade teaching career in Caracas. An illustrated chronology tracks Gegos life and artistic progression as well as her exhibition history, contextualized within the rich cultural milieus in which she lived and worked. Also featured are images of Gegos Reticulárea, an environmental installation widely considered to be her magnum opus, and a series of photographs taken by the artists partner at their shared home and studio in Caracas.

Gego remains little known in the US today, despite her unique and striking formal and conceptual contributions. This essential publication advances an expanded understanding and appreciation of the artists work within the context of 20th-century modernism.

Weight: 1196g
Dimension: 216 x 268 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780892075553