Introduction
Dear visitors,
Welcome to the Fondation Beyeler, welcome to the exhibition “Mondrian Evolution”. You will witness how Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), one of modernism’s most famous artists, morphed from landscape painter to avant-gardist and pioneer of abstract art. 2022 marks the 150th anniversary of his birth. The Beyeler Collection holds seven significant works by the artist. Ahead of this exhibition, they have been examined by conservation specialists, leading to some wholly new insights
The exhibition is organised thematically. Rather than individual pictures, the following pages therefore address wider aspects and concerns of Mondrian’s work. His “evolution” was not a linear one, as he experimented fearlessly. For example, having already painted in a non-figurative manner, he returned to figuration for a group of paintings. Works of traditional appearance do not necessarily predate works bearing the hallmark of the avant-garde. It is therefore worthwhile to check the year in which each artwork was produced!
This exhibition of the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, has been organised in cooperation with the Kunstmuseum Den Haag and curated by Ulf Küster, Senior Curator, Fondation Beyeler. It will travel on to the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf.
Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (he later changed his name to Mondrian) was born on 7 March 1872 in Amersfoort in the Netherlands. After training as a drawing instructor and studying art in Amsterdam, he worked as an art teacher, scientific draughtsman and portraitist. With traditional landscape painting as his starting point, he developed an expressive, chromatically vivid style. In 1912, he moved to Paris. His encounter with Cubism led to a series of non-figurative paintings in muted colours. Mondrian spent World War I in the Netherlands, where he continued probing the possibilities of abstraction with both figurative and nonfigurative forms. In 1917, he was one of the founding members of the art movement “De Stijl”. Upon his return to Paris in 1919, he focused on abstract compositions featuring rectangles, black lines, white and the primary colours yellow, red and blue. After a few intermediate years in London, in 1940 Mondrian emigrated to New York, where he began experimenting with coloured lines. Mondrian died on 1 February 1944 in New York
Information
Texts: Ulf Küster
Copy editing: Holger Steinemann
Translation: Maud Capelle
Graphic design: Thorsten Romanus
Feedback regarding the hall texts can be sent to: kunstvermittlung@fondationbeyeler.ch
#BeyelerMondrian
#MondrianEvolution
Reproduced works by Piet Mondrian:
© 2022 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust
For full photographic credits, please refer to p. 256 of the exhibition catalogue Mondrian Evolution.
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Mondrian Evolution
Designed by Irma Boom
Edited by Sam Keller and Ulf Küster
for the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Switzerland as well as by Susanne Gaensheimer, Kathrin Beßen and Susanne Meyer-Büser for the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen
Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2022, 264 pages, 306 illustrations
CHF 58.-
Further publications on Piet Mondrian are available from the museum’s Art Shop: shop.fondationbeyeler.ch
#BeyelerMondrian
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The exhibition is generously supported by:
as well as further patrons who prefer to remain anonymous.
The exhibition guide has been produced with the kind support of
