Gego: Line as Object

Many of the works of Gego (1912–1994) can be turned around, walked around or walked through, so that their composition seems to be constantly changing. Filigreed and minimal, so light that they almost seem to dance, her grid sculptures can be hung like reliefs in front of walls or positioned freely in space. Born in Hamburg, the Venezuelan artist created her three-dimensional installations out of wire, ropes or aluminum bars, or sometimes with found materials such as clothes hangers or metal springs. Before emigrating in 1939, Gertrud Goldschmidt (Gego) studied architecture at the Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart under Paul Bonatz, and, as a result, the construction of structures and the shaping of space took on great significance in her artistic work, which takes line as a theme in its own right. This publication provides insight into the artist’s drawings and sculptural work and is the first to shed light on how Gego’s studies influenced her work.