Detail of Sue Fuller (1914-2006), String Composition #186, 1978-81
The term ‘Constructivism’ is typically associated with artistic tendencies in the Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe during the 1910s and ’20s. Yet, following the wave of European immigration to the United States during and after the Second World War, new forms of constructive art emerged in America. These developments were shaped by the country’s expanding industrial landscape, as well as advances in textile production, materials research, and technology.
For the inaugural edition of Independent 20th Century at the Breuer Building, Luxembourg + Co. presents a dialogue between Sue Fuller (1914–2006), a pioneer of innovative construction in post-war American art, and a group of influential émigré artists whose ideas informed her practice.
Naum Gabo’s 1948 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art proved to be a turning point in Fuller’s career, encouraging her to deepen her research into plastic materials based on the innovative possibilities she encountered in his work. László Moholy-Nagy, in turn, influenced her fascination with angled, three-dimensional line compositions, and Anni Albers’s meandering thread and drawing works resonated with Fuller when the two exhibited together at the Currier Museum in 1956. The current presentation also includes works by Wassily Kandinsky, whose collaborations with Fuller’s first mentor, the printmaker Stanley William Hayter, contributed to her artistic development and enduring interest in colour harmonies.