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The Belgium born artist Georges Vantongerloo (1886 ? 1965) is one of the great, still underestimated pioneers of modern art. Being an utopian he was looking for avant-garde forms of expression of a new way of living and a more human society.

?For a new world? honours his work for the first time with an extensive retro perspective with a collection of over 140 pieces and large documentation material of the artist Georges Vantongerloo, who was born in Antwerp in 1886 and died in Paris in 1965.

Through the comparison of pieces made by 30 different artists like Theo van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian, Bert van der Leck, Naum Gabo, Alexander Rodtschenko, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Hans Arp und Sophie Taeuber(-Arp), Alexander Calder, Max Bill and others, the importance of his work his put into an international context and honours his importance for art in the 20^th century.

The exhibition, which shows the variety of his work is presented in chronological order and consists of his early abstract pieces which he created in Holland from 1917 on and ends with his later work of the 60?s.

The exhibition not only gives a representative view of his work, but offers a deeper insight in his working process. Important are the documents of the artist himself. From 1917 on he was interested in other artists like De Stijl-artist Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg. Later he created architectural pieces for airports, bridges and interiors as well as his leading role with the group ?Abstraction-Création?.

He permanently created new contexts to the universal space with his later Wire and Plexiglas sculptures. Since the 1930?s he had an intensive friendship with Max Bill.

There is a catalogue for the exhibition published by Scheidegger & Spiess Zurich, which also is the only German monographic of the artist.

Georges Vantongerloo (1886-1965) and his circles from Mondrian to Bill - For a new world. Published by Christoph Brockhaus and Hans Janssen. With articles by Marion Bornscheuer, Christoph Brockhaus (Duisburg); Hans Janssen (Den Haag), Angela Thomas (Zumikon), Francisca Vandepitte (Brussels) and Marek Wieczorek (Vancouver); 292 pages. ISBN 978-3-85881-294-0, Price at the museum: 34,80 Euro (in commerce: CHF  79.00 | ? 51.40 (? 55.00).

From 10. October 2009 till 10. January 2010
later at the Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag: 23. January till 16. May 2010

Stiftung Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Friedrich-Wilhelm-Straße 40, D - 47051 Duisburg
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 11 till 17 o?clock, Sun 10 till 18, Mon closed.

http://www.duisburg.de/micro2/lehmbruck/ausstellungen/wechselausstellungen/Ausst_Vantongerloo_2009.php