Plastique / Plastic

Sophie Taeuber-Arp’s 1930s-era avant-garde magazine bolstered by a desire to combat fascism through the promotion of abstract and concrete art across Europe and the USLaunched in 1937 by the French-Swiss artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943), Plastique / Plastic was an avant-garde magazine created to promote and maintain artistic networks as forms of resistance to the cultural oppression of fascist regimes. Comprising five issues over the course of 1937 and 1939, Plastique / Plastic encompasses the spirit of avant-garde art in Europe and the United States during a time when modern ideas and independent thinking started to become dangerous indulgences. Paintings, drawings, sculptures and texts in English, French and German trace the traditions and changes in modern art through works from influential artists and writings by art historians and critics―many of them having been close friends with Taeuber-Arp. Across five issues, Plastique / Plastic illustrates the shared appreciation and the close bond between abstract artists in both European countries and the United States―encouraging and highlighting an air of collaboration and internationality during times of increasing nationalism. Housed in a slipcase, the facsimile edition of this important magazine reproduces all issues of the rarely seen publication in full, offering a unique and multifaceted perspective on abstract art during the first decades of the 20th century. Read more