--- type: exposition title: Abstraction-Création language: en url: "https://www.belvedere.at/en/abstraction-creation" --- # Abstraction-Création ## The Parisian Circle 1931–1937 ![Abstrakte Komposition aus Kreisen, Kreisbögen, Rechtecken und Linien in Weiß, Rot, Hellblau und Schwarz. Die Formen überlagern sich auf hellem Hintergrund; schwarze horizontale und vertikale Streifen gliedern die Bildfläche.](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/header_cropped_1920x480_fp/public/2026-10/Franti%C5%A1ek%20Kupka%20_Wei%C3%9F%20auf%20Blau%20und%20Rot_1934_Dauerleihgabe%20Sammlung%20Rotter.jpg.webp?itok=Lnwnea8T) **Duration:** 19 February 2027 - 13 June 2027 Numbering more than one hundred members, Abstraction-Création was the most successful group of nonrepresentational artists in the 1930s. Based in Paris from 1931 to 1937, the association provided a forum for exchange as well as a platform for artists to articulate their artistic positions through exhibitions and publications. International and intergenerational in its composition, the group encompassed all strands of nonrepresentational art—from geometric and organic abstraction to Concrete Art. The exhibition features works by Jean Arp, František Foltýn, Barbara Hepworth, Katarzyna Kobro, Fernand Léger, László Moholy-Nagy, Marlow Moss, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Georges Vantongerloo, and others. Curated by Flóra Mészáros (independent curator) and Alexander Klee Assistant Curator: Miroslav Haľák ### [Lower Belvedere](https://www.belvedere.at/en/visit/lower-belvedere) **Opening hours:** Monday to Sunday, 10 am - 6 pm **Address:** Lower Belvedere, 1030 Vienna ([Getting there]()) [Tickets](https://www.belvedere.at/en/tickets?location%5B0%5D=3) ## Impressions - ![Reliefartige Komposition mit kreisförmigen und gerundeten Elementen in Schwarz, Grau, Weiß, Rot und Beige vor dunklem Hintergrund. — Alfréd Réth, Composition, 1937 — On permanent loan from Silard Isaak, Carl Laszlo Collection | Belvedere, Vienna — © Bildrecht, Vienna 2026 | photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2026-10/Alfr%C3%A9d%20R%C3%A9th_Komposition_1937_Dauerleihgabe%20von%20Silard%20Isaak%2C%20Sammlung%20Carl%20Laszlo.jpg.webp?itok=H4Kr-S_T) - ![Schmale, aufrecht stehende Skulptur mit rechteckigem Querschnitt auf einem polygonalen Sockel. Die Oberfläche ist in Braun-, Rotviolett- und Grüntönen gefasst. Auf der Vorderseite verläuft eine längliche, hellgrüne Form vertikal über den Körper der Skulptur. — Étienne Beothy, Supplicator IV., reworked II., 1931 — On permanent loan from Silard Isaak, Carl Laszlo Collection | Belvedere, Vienna — © Bildrecht, Vienna 2026 | photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2026-10/%C3%89tienne%20Beothy_Flehende%20IV%20%C3%BCberarbeitet%20II_1931_Dauerleihgabe%20von%20Silard%20Isaak%2C%20Sammlung%20Carl%20Laszlo.jpg.webp?itok=8CRSeTE-) - ![Abstrakte Komposition aus Kreisen, Kreisbögen, Rechtecken und Linien in Weiß, Rot, Hellblau und Schwarz. Die Formen überlagern sich auf hellem Hintergrund; schwarze horizontale und vertikale Streifen gliedern die Bildfläche. — František Kupka, White on Blue and Red, ca. 1934 — Permanent Loan from the Rotter Collection | Belvedere, Vienna — © Bildrecht, Vienna 2026 | Photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2026-10/Franti%C5%A1ek%20Kupka%20_Wei%C3%9F%20auf%20Blau%20und%20Rot_1934_Dauerleihgabe%20Sammlung%20Rotter.jpg.webp?itok=AJWc1ELD) - ![Abstraktes Gemälde mit überlappenden Flächen in Dunkelblau, Violett, Braun, Grau, Beige und Rosa. Mehrere geschwungene Linien verlaufen über die Bildfläche. Im Zentrum und im unteren Bildbereich befinden sich helle, unregelmäßig geformte Flächen, umgeben von dunkleren Farbformen. — František Foltýn, Abstract Composition, 1936–1937 — Permanent Loan from the Rotter Collection | Belvedere, Vienna — © Bildrecht, Vienna 2026 | Photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2026-10/Franti%C5%A1ek%20Folt%C3%BDn_Abstrakte%20Komposition_1936%E2%80%931937_Dauerleihgabe%20Sammlung%20Rotter.jpg.webp?itok=J-A0vUVL) ## The Exhibition Beginning in the late 1920s, rising nationalism and increasing political radicalization in Europe forced many artists to emigrate to liberal France, particularly to Paris. In 1931, a small group of artists working in nonrepresentational styles joined forces to establish Abstraction-Création with the express aim of gaining greater public visibility. The association remained active until 1937. The apparent contradiction in its name reflects the diversity of approaches represented by its members, ranging from constructive tendencies, as seen in the work of Piet Mondrian, Marlow Moss, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, and László Moholy-Nagy, to organic abstraction, practiced by Jean Arp, Wassily Kandinsky, and František Foltýn. The magazine published by the association both reflects the rich diversity of nonrepresentational art and attests to the artists’ sociopolitical interests. Through the magazine, which reproduced works of art, and exhibitions held at the gallery in a prominent location on Avenue de Wagram, near the Arc de Triomphe, the association helped raise the artists’ public profile. The international network that emerged from Abstraction-Création continued to connect artists dispersed across the globe in the wake of political upheaval, even after the end of World War II, and had a lasting influence on the development of nonrepresentational art.