The Square's Heart

The term “concrete art” was coined by the Dutch artist
Theo van Doesburg in 1930, referring to works of art that
are exclusively based on purely “plastic” elements, such
as color, line and plane, thereby forming an independent
“concrete” reality. Accompanied by a new interest in how
we perceive and process visual impressions, insights from
perception psychology have been artistically explored to
create dynamic and ’living’ images.

Over the past 50 years, the Norwegian art collector Erling
Neby has built an extraordinary collection of geometric
and concrete art. Encompassing European, American and
Nordic art, the main focus is on works from the post-war
years, including leading figures such as Victor Vasarely,
Max Bill, Auguste Herbin, Josef Albers, Aase Texmon Rygh
and Olle Bærtling, as well as new generations of artists
who, in different ways, use a geometric-abstract form of
expression. This catalogue documents a major exhibition
at the Kode Art Museum in Bergen featuring more than
100 works from the collection, which–through its truly personal
selection–offers a complex picture of artistic positions,
and the impact of geometric and concrete art.