Gego

This article is about the Venezuelan artist and sculpture, and should not be confused with the measurement gegobyte, sometimes known as a gego.

Gertrud "Gego" Louise Goldschmidt (1 August 1912 – 17 September 1994) also known as Gego, was a modern Venezuelan artist and sculptor. Gego's most popular works were produced in the 1960s and 1970s, during the height of popularity of Geometric abstract art and Kinetic Art. Although these genres influenced her somewhat, Gego tried to develop her own style by drawing lines in space and break from the popular art of Venezuela. Her artwork is commonly exhibited with artists like Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica and Mira Schendel. Gego died in 1994 and left a collection of writings about art.

Gego was born in Hamburg, Germany. Although she was the niece of the medieval art historian Adolf Goldschmidt, who taught at the University of Berlin, she decided to attend the Technische Hochschule of Stuttgart in 1932, where she was taught by popular masonry artist Dr. Paul Bonatz and in 1938 received a diploma in both architecture and engineering.

Because her family was Jewish, life became very difficult for them once the Nazis gained power in 1934. Her German citizenship was nullified in 1935. Four years later she moved to Venezuela, where she gained citizenship in 1952. In 1987, Professor Frithjof Trapp of the University of Hamburg led an investigation called "Exile and Emigration of Hamburg Jews", which he hoped would explain the lives of these Jews. Gego was one of the people who he hoped to investigate. After several letters to her home, Gego finally agreed to respond but the letter was never mailed and instead stayed in her collection of notes. In her testimony titled "Reflection on my origins and encounters in life" Gego describes how her family identified with German society. She described, in detail, her education history and her departure from Germany.

Gego knew the importance of education. After moving to Caracas, Venezuela, she taught at the school of architecture of the Central University between 1958 and 1967. Additionally, between 1964 and 1977, she taught at the Neumann Institute of Design in Caracas, an institution where many other renowned artists, such as Harry Abend, her fellow European-born artist, also taught. She taught "Bidimensional and Three-Dimensional Form" and "Spatial Solutions" and published two articles between 1971 and 1977.

Gego believed that with her education and experience she would be a great asset to young minds. In 1947, the Venezuelan people finally overthrew the dictatorial government. Gego knew that, after a time of crisis, students are the members of society that are the most influential. Included in her Sabiduras, a folder of her informal writings discovered upon her death, there is a letter addressed to her colleagues explaining the criteria that would be beneficial to the students of Venezuela. In it, she explains that only through experience can artists, and architects in particular, learn their medium. Images and theories about architecture would not further their artistic training. Gego's views were fueled by her belief that students were taught with too much emphasis on rationality and were becoming "ignorant of imagination".

Background

Arriving in Venezuela during an economic boom, Gego was surrounded by artists who were enjoying a great deal of success. Modernism was the artistic fad sweeping through Latin America and artists in Venezuela participated enthusiastically. Modernism was a political tool as well. Latin American governments were trying to catch up to the advancements of the United States during the Post World War II era and Venezuela thought by encouraging the modern art movement, which incorporated ideas of the industry, science, and architecture, the country would be seen as progressive. She made her first sculpture in 1957. She was aware of the modern movement when she came to Caracas, but she did not want to simply co-opt the ideas of Kinetic Art, Constructivism or Geometric Abstraction. Instead, Gego wanted to create a style of her own because she was able to use so many aspects of her life in her art—for example, her German heritage. In the end, Gego saw that these new projects labeled desarrollista (developmentalist movement) were pleasing the elite and government, but she wanted an art that would relate to the local community of Venezuela.

Line

From Kinetic Art, Gego incorporated the ideas of motion as well as the importance of experimentation and the spectator. One of her earliest works, Esfera (Sphere) (1959), consists of welded brass and painted steel of different widths that are placed at different angles to one another in order to create overlapping lines and fields. When the viewer walks around the sphere, the visual relationship between the lines changes, creating a sense of motion. Esfera echoes the work done by famous Kinetic artists like Carlos Cruz-Diez and Jesus Rafael Soto. It was not until the mid-1960s that Gego departed from the basic concept of Kinetic Art in response to her developing ideas about lines. For Gego, a line inhabited its own space, and as such, it was not a component in a larger work but instead it was a work by itself. Therefore, in her artworks, she did not use line to represent an image; line is the image.

The strength or purpose of the line was enhanced by her use of different materials, such as steel, wire, lead, nylon and various metals. In addition to relating to her interest in architecture, these materials also contradicted the new modernist movement in Latin America. Gego not only used these materials to create lines in her massive sculptures but also in her series entitled Dibujos Sin Papel (Drawings without Paper). These tiny works were created from scraps of metal that were bent and weaved together in order to evoke movement, experimentation and spontaneity.

While in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, Gego composed a series of lithographs that were mostly untitled except for a ten-page booked entitled, Lines in 1966. This book is full of lithographs produced in gray and red. Variations in the thickness, length, and direction of the lines demonstrate the fundamental instability of line. By experimenting with line in a different medium, Gego emphasized that the notion of "line" retains its strength and independence regardless of its specific location or form.

Space

Gego's idea of a series artworks that would be titled "Drawings Without Paper" reflects on her view of space. Gego considered space as its own form; as if her artwork was occupying the artwork of the room itself. Since her work is made from nets and grid-like materials, negative space is everywhere, causing the negative as well as the positive space to be appreciated. But it is the shadows created by her works that reveal the integral connection between the sculpture and the room it occupies. Gego is thus allowed to play with the idea of the stable and unstable elements of art. The stable elements of art is the sculpture itself, while the unstable elements consist of the constantly changing shadows and the slight movement in her design due to the fragility of her materials. In fact, the way her sculptures exist in space changes every time it was installed because Gego had the power to recreate the image as she wanted.

Her series of Reticuláreas is undoubtedly her most popular and most talked about group of artworks. Her first series was created in 1969. Pieces of aluminum and steel were joined together to create an interweaving of nets and webs that fills the entire room when exhibited. Her use of repetition and layering in the massive structure causes the piece to seem endless. Indeed, Gego's attention to line and space creates a beautiful artwork for the viewer. Since her death, the permanent collection of Reticuláreas is in the Galería de Arte Nacional in Caracas, Venezuela.

Since her death in 1994, her children and grandchildren have taken the responsibility to preserve Gego's legacy. That same year, they founded the Fundacion Gego to organize her artwork and to promote the awareness of their relatives contribution to the art world. The Fundacion Gego gave the permission to publish Gego's personal writings and testimonies in 2005. These writings, now published, might influence other artists in her innovative and experimental mode of sculpture.

Gego met Venezuelan urban planner Ernst Gunz at the architectural firm where she worked with other architects to design the Los Caobos housing estate for Luis Roche. They married in October 1940 and opened a furniture studio called ‘Gunz’, where Gego designed lamps and wooden furniture. Together the couple had Tomás (b. 1942) and Barbara (b. 1944). Gego closed Gunz in 1944 in order to spend more time with her children. By 1948 she returned to designing private homes, nightclubs and restaurants. In 1951 she separated from Ernst Gunz, and in 1952 met artist and graphic designer Gerd Leufert. Gego and Leufert remained partnered for life. This romantic partnership coincides with the development of her artistic career. She begins exhibiting her watercolors, collages, and monotypes in 1954 and is experimenting with creating three-dimensional objects by 1956.

Solo exhibitions

• 1958 - Gego: Sculptures and Gouaches, Liberia Cruz del Sur, Caracas, May 9–24
• 1964 - Lines and interlines: Engravings and Drawings by Gego, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, February 2–16
• 1967 - Gego: Sculptures. 1957-1967, Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango, Bogota, June 8–30
• 1968 - On Paper: Lithographs by Gego, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, November
• 1969 - Reticulárea, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, June–July
• 1970 - Gego Drawings, The Graphic Gallery, San Francisco, May 1–17
• 1971 - Gego: Sculpture and Drawing, Betty Parsons Gallery, New York, April 13-May 1
• 1972 - Structures Double Curves, Galeria Conkright, Caracas
• 1973 - Recent Drawings, Galeria Conkright, Caracas
• 1975 - Gego: Drawings for Projects, Instituto de Diseno, Fundacion Neumann, Caracas, May 6–20
• 1977 - Gego, Museo de Artes Contemporaneo de Caracas Sofia Imber, September
• 1980 - Variations on Reticuláreas, Sala Cadafe, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Caracas Sofia Imber, May
• 1981 - Reticulárea, Permanent Installation, Sala Gego, Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas
• 1982 - Watercolors by Gego, Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas, Jul 4-Aug 8
• 1984 - Gego: Drawings without Paper, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, June–August
• 1988 - Gego: Recent Works, Galeria Sotavento, Caracas, March
• 1994 - Gego: A Look at Her Work, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Caracas Sofia Imber, November
• 1996 - Gego: Drawings, Engravings, Weavings, Centro Cultural Consolidado, Caracas, September–November
• 2000-01 - Gego: 1955-1990, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas October–March
• 2002-03 - Questioning the Line: Gego, a Selection, 1955-1990, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
• 2005 - Gego: Between Transparency and the Invisible, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 26-September 25
• 2007 - Gego: Between Transparency and the Invisible, The Drawing Center, New York, April 21- July 21
• 2011 - Gego: Prints and Drawings 1963-1991, Frederico Seve Gallery, New York, May 24 - August 18, 2011
• 2012 - Gego: Origin and Encounter, Mastering the Space, Americas Society, New York, September 29 - December 8
• 2014 - Gego: Line as Object, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, July 21- October 19

Group Exhibitions

• 1954: XV Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas
• 1955: Venezolanische Impressionen 1954, Galerie Wolfgang Gurlitt, Munich
• 1959: Pintura y escultura de profesores de la Faculdad de Arquitectura, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas
• 1960: Recent Sculpture, David Herbert Gallery, New York
• 1960/1961: Section Eleven (New Names), Betty Parsons Gallery, New York
• 1963: Pintura geométrica venezolana 1950–1960, Galería de Arte del INCIBA, Caracas
• 1964: One Hundred Contemporary Prints – Pratt Graphic Art Center, Jewish Museum, New York
• 1965: The Responsive Eye, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
• 1966: Art of Latin America since Independence, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven
• 1967: Recent Latin American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
• 1968: New Dimension in Lithography. An Exhibition Recently Selected from the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Fisher and Quinn Galleries, Southern California University
• 1969: El arte cinético y sus orígenes, Ateneo de Caracas, Caracas
• 1969/1970: Latin America. New Paintings and Sculpture. Juan Downey, Agustín Fernández, Gego, Gabriel Morera, Center for Inter-AmericanRelations Art Gallery, New York
• 1971: Tamarind. A Renaissance of Lithography. A Loan Exhibition from the Tamarind Lithography, International Foundation, California
• 1975: Relaciones y contrastes en la pintura venzolana, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Gego, Otero y Negret, Galería Adler Castillo, Caracas
• 1976: Las artes plásticas en Venezuela, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas
• 1978: Pequeña historia del dibujo en Venezuela, Estudio Actual, Caracas
• 1982: Spielraum – Raumspiele, Alte Oper, Frankfurt am Main
• 1986: Caracas urbana, Museo de Arte La Rinconada, Caracas
• 1988–1990: The Latin Spirit. Art and Artists in the United States 1920–1970, The Bronx Museum of Art, New York
• 1992: Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century, Plaza de Armas, Sevilla
• 1996/1997: Inside the Visible. An Elliptical Traverse of 20th Century Art (in, of, and from the Feminine), The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
• 1997–1999: Re-Aligning Vision. Alternative Currents in South American Drawing, The Neighborhood Museum, New York
• 1999/2000: The Experimental Exercise of Freedom. Lygia Clark, Gego, Mathias Goeritz, Hélio Oiticica and Mira Schendel, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
• 2000: Force Fields. Phases of the Kinetic, Hayward Gallery, London
• 2000/2001: Heterotopías. Medio siglo sin lugar 1918–1968, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid
• 2001: Geometric Abstraction. Latin American Art in the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University.
• 2013: "Zero" Museu Oscar Niemeyer (in collaboration with D.O.P. Foundation and The Goethe Institut), Curitiba, Brazil.
• 2013/2014: "Zero" Iberê Camargo Foundation (in collaboration with D.O.P. Collection and The Goethe Institut), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
• 2014: "Zero" Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (in collaboration with D.O.P. Foundation, The Goethe Institut, Prohelvetia & Alliance), São Paulo, Brazil.
• 2016: Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947-2016, Hauser, Wirth & Schimmel, Los Angeles
• 2016: Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible, The Met Breuer, New York

• ^ "ZERO" - exhibition catalog of the most important travelling exhibition in America of Zero Group, edited by Heike van der Valentyn, with essays by Otto, Piene, Paulo Venencio Filho, Heinz-Norbert Jocks, Heike van den Valentyn, published by Museu Oscar Niemayer, Iberê Camargo Foundation & Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and printed in São Paulo, Brazil, 2013, ISBN 978-85-60638-37-6

• Vibration in Black, 1957, Painted Aluminum, Fundacion Gego, Caracas
• Split, 1959, Stainless Steel, Dorothea and Leo Rabkin, New York
• Eight Squares at the Museum of Modern Art, 1961
• Untitled, 1962–1970, Ink on Cardboard, Fundacion Gego, Caracas
• Torrecilla, 1965–66, Painted stainless steel wire and Iron construction sculpture, Colección D.O.P., Madrid.
• Autobiography of Line, Chinese Ink on Japanese paper, folded and bound, cardboard cover book, Fundacion Gego, Caracas
• Tamarind Series, 1966, Lithograph on Cardboard, Fundacion Gego, Caracas
• Cornice 1, 1967, (Large installation in 6 pieces), each piece: Painted stainless steel and bronze wire construction, Colección D.O.P., Paris.
• Untitled at the Museum of Modern Art, 1970
• Square Reticularea 71/6 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1971
• Reticulárea cuadrada 71/6 [Square Reticulárea] at The Met Breuer, 1971
• Stream no.7 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1971
• Square Reticulárea, 1971–1976, Steel rods, assembled lead, Fundacion Gego, Caracas
• Reticulárea, 1971–1976, Steel wire, nylon, leader sleeves, Fundacion Cisneros, Caracas
• Untitled 73/13 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1973
• Untitled 73/14 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1973
• Untitled 73/15 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1973
• Untitled 73/16 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1973
• Untitled 73/17 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1973
• Reticularea at the Museum of Modern Art, 1973-1976
• Drawing Without Paper Series, 1976–1989, Stainless steel, steel rods, crystal beads, painted iron, metal chains, copper wire, Various owners
• Trunk, 1977, Steel wire, metal rods, leader sleeves, Fundacion Gego, Caracas
• Untitled at the Museum of Modern Art, 1980
• Reticulárea Circular (gato o rosa), 1981, Watercolor on Arches, Fundaciòn D.O.P., Madrid
• Drawing without Paper 84/25 and 84/26 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1984 and 1987
• Drawing without Paper 85/19 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1985
• Cornice 2 (Drawing without paper N°88/37), 1988, Metallic pieces, stainless steel, nylon, lead, Fundacion Cisneros, Caracas
• Ledge II, no. 88/37 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1988
• Stream Reticulárea, 1988, Steel wires of different thickness, Banco Mercantil, Caracas
• Weaving 89/21 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1989
• Weaving 90/36 at the Museum of Modern Art, 1990

• Gego (2016). "Reticulárea cuadrada 71/6 [Square Reticulárea]". Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible (March 18, 2016-September 4, 2016). The Metropolitan Museum of Art.