Inventing Abstraction

"Inventing Abstraction" is a publication that accompanies an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, celebrating the centennial of the first abstract pictures presented by artists like Vasily Kandinsky, Frantisek Kupka, Francis Picabia, and Robert Delaunay in 1912.

The book traces the development of abstraction through a network of modern artists, including Marsden Hartley, Marcel Duchamp, Piet Mondrian, and Kazimir Malevich.

It explores various forms of artistic production, such as paintings, drawings, sculptures, film, photography, sound poetry, atonal music, and non-narrative dance, providing a cross-media portrait of these pivotal years in art history.

The publication features introductory essays and focused studies by scholars in the field.