Artist
Gonzalo Fonseca(Uruguayan, 1922–1997)Uruguayan, 1922–1997
CultureUruguayan
Titles
- Sin título [Untitled]
Datec. 1950
MediumIncised wood with paint
Dimensions29 5/8 × 26 7/8 × 12 1/4 in. (75.2 × 68.3 × 31.1 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment
Object number2017.110
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 205
Exposé
Explore Further
Department
Latin American ArtObject Type
one-of-a-kind, hand-built cabinet by Fonseca is an example of how TTG artists
expanded Constructive Universalist symbols to fit their own expressive needs.
The artist used circular and conical shapes to add dynamism to the grid while
suggesting mountain landscapes. He combined his own ocean-related iconography
with the TTG’s cosmic symbols. Unlike Torres-García’s straight figures, Fonseca’s
are rounded, often with mask-like faces that employ two small circles for eyes
separated by a vertical band.
ProvenanceThe artist; gifted to Olimpia Torres (1911-2007), Montevideo, c. 1950; [Oscar Prato, Montevideo, 2014]; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2016.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
On the inside left corner of hood, the artist has carved his initials “GF” and the initials of Taller Torres-Garcia “TTG” (Fig. 9). The work is inscribed "1950" next to an hourglass shape on the side of the cabinet (Fig. 10).
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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