Object with Number 1

1932

Joaquín Torres-García
Uruguayan, 1874–1949

Joaquín Torres-García is a critical figure in the history of modern Latin American art, celebrated for his introduction of Constructivist aesthetics as a natural, indigenous language. In 1926 he settled in Paris, where he formulated the key principles of what he called Constructive Universalism. His maderas (wood pieces) ran counter to the prevailing notions of sculpture as well as abstraction at the time but played an important role in his work. Object with Number 1 suggests both an architectural and human form; indeed, the number 1 painted at the top reflects his theories about the unity of the individual and the cosmos.

Status: On View, Gallery 391
Department: Modern Art

Artist: Joaquín Torres Garcia
Title: Object with Number 1
Place: Uruguay (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1932
Medium: Oil and nails on wood
Dimensions: 47 × 22.5 × 9.2 cm (18 1/2 × 8 7/8 × 3 5/8 in.)
Credit Line: Through prior gift of The Charles H. and Mary F.S. Worcester Collection
Reference Number: 2013.1095

Exposición Homenaje a Torres-García: Juguetes Objetos de Arte Maderas, exh. cat. (Museo de Arte Precolombino, 1974), n.p., cat. 73 (as Objeto con número 1).
Joaquín Torres-García (1874-1949): Paintings, Constructions and Drawings, exh. cat. (Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, 1981), n.p., cat. 26 (ill. as Objeto con número 1).
Torres-García: Grid-Pattern-Sign: Paris-Montevideo 1924-1944, exh. cat. (Arts Council of Great Britain, 1986), pp. 48 (ill.); 120, cat. 46.
Torres-García: estructura-dibuix-símbol, exh. cat. (Fundació Joan Miró, 1986), p. 72, cat. 43 (ill. as Objecte amb el núm 1).
Margit Rowell, Torres-García, exh. cat. (Ministerio de Cultura, 1991), pp. 107 (color ill. as Objet plastique au nº 1); 170, cat. 67
Waldo Rasmussen and Edward J. Sullivan, Artistas Latinoamericanos del siglo XX, exh. cat. (Comisaría de la Ciudad de Sevilla; Museum of Modern Art, 1992), pp. 78; 203 (color ill. as Objeto plástico al nº 1); 455, cat. 8.
Alain Sayag and Claude Schweisguth, eds., Art d’Amerique latine: 1911-1968, exh. cat. (Éditions du Centre Pompidou, 1992), p. 332 (color ill. as Objet plastique nº 1).
Marc Scheps, ed., Lateinamerikanische Kunst im 20. Jahrhundert, exh. cat. (Pretsel-Verlag, 1993), p. 150 (color ill. as Objeto plástico No. 1).
J. Torres-García, exh. cat. (Fundação Arpad Szemes-Vieira da Silva, 1996), n.p., cat. 22 (color ill. as Objet plastique au nº 1).
J. Torres-García: obra constructiva: 24 bienal de arte, exh. cat. (Deputación Pontevedra, Xunta de Galicia, 1996), n.p., cat. 30 (color ill. as Objet plastique au nº 1).
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Arte Madí, exh. cat. (Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, 1997), p. 15 (ill. as Objeto plástico nº 1).
Adolfo M. Maslach, Joaquín Torres-García: sol y luna del arcano (Ed. UNESCO, 1998), p. 352, fig. 193 (as Objeto plástico au Nº 1).
Emmanuel Guigon, Joaquín Torres-García: un monde construit, exh. cat. (Hazan; Musées de Strasbourg, 2002), pp. 167 (color ill. as Objet plastique nº 1); 248.
Marcelo Pacheco and Enrico Crispolti, Arte Abstracto Argentino, exh. cat. (Fundación Proa; Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, 2003), n.p. (color ill. as Objet Plastique au Nº 1); p. 228, cat 89.
Joaquín Torres-García: Constructing Abstraction with Wood, exh. cat. (Menil Collection, 2009), pp. 80-81, cat. 83 (ill.).
Luis Pérez-Oramas, Joaquín Torres-García: The Arcadian Modern, exh. cat. (Museum of Modern Art, 2015), pp. 140 (color ill., as Objeto con número 1); 213.
Luis Pérez-Oramas, Joaquín Torres-García: Un moderno en la Arcadia, exh. cat. (Ediciones El Viso, 2016), pp. 140, cat. 126 (color ill. as Objeto con número 1); 211.
Cecilia de Torres and Susanna V. Temkin, Joaquín Torres-García Catalogue Raisonné, accessed January 9, 2020, http://www.torresgarcia.com/.

Montevideo, Museo de Arte Precolombino, Colección Matto, Exposición Homenaje a Torres-García: Juguetes Objetos de Arte Maderas, Oct. 1974, cat. 73.
New York, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, Joaquín Torres-García (1874-1949): Paintings, Constructions and Drawings, Sept. 9–Oct. 3, 1981, cat. 26.
London, Hayward Gallery, Torres-García: Grid-Pattern-Sign: Paris-Montevideo 1924-1944, Nov. 14, 1985–Feb. 23, 1986, cat. 46; Barcelona, Fundació Joan Miró, Mar. 13–May 4, 1986, cat. 43; Städische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, as Torres-Garcia: Gitter, Muster, Zeichen, Paris-Montevideo 1924-1944, July–Aug. 1986; Miami, Center for the Fine Arts, Sept. 13–Nov. 9, 1986; Houston, Museum of the Fine Arts, Feb. 14–Apr. 5, 1987.
Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Torres-García, June–Aug. 1991, cat. 67; Valencia, IVAM Centre Julio Gonzalez, Sept.–Nov. 1991.
Seville, Estación Plaza de Armas, Artistas Latinoamericanos del siglo XX, Aug. 11–Oct. 12, 1992, (as Objeto plástico al nº 1); Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou, as Art d’Amerique latine: 1911-1968, Nov. 12, 1992–Jan. 11, 1993 (as Objet plastique nº 1); Cologne, Museum Ludwig, Lateinamerikanische Kunst im 20. Jahrhundert, Feb. 9-Apr. 25, 1993 (as Objeto plástico No. 1).
Lisbon, Fundação Arpad Szemes-Vieira da Silva, J. Torres-García, May 26–July 21, 1996, cat. 22.
Museo de Pontevedra, J. Torres-García: obra constructiva: 24 bienal de arte, Aug.–Sept. 1996, cat. 30.
Strasbourg, Musée d’Art moderne et contemporain, Joaquín Torres-García: un monde construit, May 24–Sept. 8, 2002; Madrid, Museo Colecciones ICO, Oct. 22, 2002–Jan. 6, 2003.
Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea de Bergamo, Arte Astratta Argentina, December 2002-March 2003; Buenos Aires, Fundación Proa, as Arte Abstracto Argentino, May–Aug., 2003, cat. 89.
Houston, Menil Collection, Joaquín Torres-García: Constructing Abstraction with Wood, Sept. 25, 2009–Jan. 3, 2010, cat. 83; San Diego Museum of Art, Feb. 20–May 3, 2010.
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Joaquín Torres-García: The Arcadian Modern, Oct. 25, 2015–Feb. 15, 2016; Madrid, Espacio Fundación Telefónica, as Joaquín Torres-García: Un moderno en la Arcadia, May 19–Sept. 11, 2016, cat. 126; Museo Picasso Malaga, Oct. 10, 2016–Feb. 5, 2017.

The artist, Montevideo (died 1949); estate of the artist, Montevideo, 1949 [this and the following, de Torres and Temkin, http://www.torresgarcia.com]; by descent to his son, Horacio Torres (died 1974), 1949; by descent to his daughter, Cecilia de Torres, New York, 1974; sold through Elrick-Manley Fine Art, New York, to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2013.

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