José Gurvich
Formas en blanco y negro

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Artist José GurvichUruguayan, born Lithuania, 1927–1974

CultureUruguayan

Titles

Formas en blanco y negro
Forms in Black and White

Date1959

MediumOil on board

Dimensions31 1/8 × 38 1/2 in. (79.1 × 97.8 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Pinta Museum Acquisition Fund; an anonymous donor in honor of Hugo V. Neuhaus, Jr.; the 2007 Latin American Experience Gala and Auction; and Dr. Luis and Cecilia Campos

Object number2008.96

Current Location

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

Gallery 205

On view

Explore Further

Department

Latin American Art

Object Type

PAINTING

DescriptionJosé Gurvich was a member of the Taller Torres-García founded in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1944. The workshop sought to stimulate younger artists on the continent of South America to create art that was not derivative of European movements but instead based on principles of a Constructive Universalism that would capture the essence of the Native American spirit. In Gurvich's black-and-white forms, hybrid modes of Geometric Abstraction result from structural principles of the grid combined with vernacular motifs.

ProvenanceThe artist; [Cecilia de Torres, Ltd., New York]; sold to MFAH, 2008.
Exhibition History"School of the South" Iturralde Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 1998

"School of the South: El Taller Torres-Garcia and Its Legacy," The Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, The University of Texas at Austin, June 1991 - May 1993.

"La Escuela Del Sur: El Taller Torres-Garcia Y Su Legados," Museu de Monterrey, 1991-1993 (?)

"North Looks South: Building the Latin American Art Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Upper Brown Pavilion, June 7 - September 27, 2009.

"Constructed Dialogues: Concrete, Geometric, and Kinetic Art from the Latin American Art Collection," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 16 September, 2012 - 6 January, 2013.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Signed in the image, lower left: "59. / J. GURVICH."

Printed labels on verso frame:

"museo de monterrey / EXPOSICION: "LA ESCUELA DEL SUR EL TALLER TERRES GARCIA Y SU LEGADOS / AUTOR JOSE GURVICH / TITULO: FORMOS EN BLANCO Y NEGRO FECHA : 1959 / TECNICA: OLEO SOBRE CARTON ... / COLECCION: MRS. ELIZABETH K. ...?ECA, NUEVA YORK ... "

"27. JOSE GURVICH / Formas en Blanco y Negro, 1959 / óleo sobre cartón, 79.5 x 98 cm. / CECILIA DE TORRES, LTD."

"ITURRALDE GALLERY / 154 N. La Brea Avenue / Los Angeles, CA 90036 / (213) 937-4267 / (in ink) SCHOOL OF THE SOUTH EXHIBITION, 1998 / JOSE GURVICH / Formas en blanco y negro / 1959 ... "

"CECILIA DE TORRES, LTD. / 140 GREENE STREET / ...NEW YORK ... / www.CECILIADETORRES.COM / JOSE GURVICH / Forms in Black & White, 1959 / ... "

"The Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery / The University of Texas at Ausstin / Exhibition: The School of the South: / El Taller Torres-Garcia and Its Legacy / Dates: 6/91 - 5/93 / Catalogue Number: 53"

"MUSEO / RUFINO / TAMAYO / Autor JOSE GURCICH, 1927-1974 / Titulo FORMAS EN BLANCO Y NEGRO / ... / Colección SRA ELIZAB... (label torn) / Museo Rufina Tamayo ... (label torn) / Paseo de la Reforma ... / Bosque de Chapultepec, ... "

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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