Lygia Clark: Painting as an Experimental Field, 1948-1958

The exhibition “Experimental Field” refers to a phrase from a keynote lecture given by the artist in 1956, Clark sought to redefine the medium by pushing the boundaries of traditional painting.

This focused exhibition presents a reexamination of Clark’s crucial formative years from 1948 to 1958, when she was experimenting between figuration and abstraction to articulate the compelling visual language that defined her mature production, tracing Clark’s artistic evolution in three structured historical sections: The Early Years, 1948–1952; Geometric Abstraction, 1953–1956; and Variation of Form: Modulating Space, 1957–1958.

This presentation of Lygia Clark’s early practice debuts on the centenary anniversary of the artist’s birth, bringing a renewed attention at an international level to a significant postwar Latin American female artist.