Pampatar Board heralds the arrival of Colorhythms, a series of paintings that, to Otero, are “imbued with the constructive meaning given to me by an intimate and passionate contact with architectural rhythm and space.” In the 1950s, he worked with architects on several new public projects that aimed to modernize Caracas, often contributing murals. This work’s monumental verticality reflects the artist’s interest in modern architecture, while the composition’s rhythmic arrangement of vivid colors, obtained from industrial paints usually used on automobiles, conveys the dynamism of modern urban life that inspired Otero.

Gallery label from

Sur moderno: Journeys of Abstraction—The Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Gift, October 21, 2019–March 14, 2020

Provenance

The artist.
[Estate of Alfredo Boulton, Caracas]
? - 1990, Stanley Ellis, Caracas, inherited from Alfredo Boulton.
1990 - 2016, Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, New York, and Caracas, purchased from Stanley Ellis.
2016, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, acquired as promised gift from Patricia Phelps de Cisneros.

Medium Lacquer on wood
Dimensions 126 × 25 5/8 × 1 1/16" (320 × 65.1 × 2.7 cm)
Credit Promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros through the Latin American and Caribbean Fund in honor of Adriana Cisneros de Griffin and Nicholas Griffin
Object number PG852.2016
Department Painting & Sculpture

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