Dictionary
Group Abstraction-Création

The Abstraction-Création group was founded by Theo van Doesburg, after he became disillusioned with his Art Concret movement (1930), and the disbanding of the Cercle et Carré group in 1931. It was in these circumstances that the Abstraction-Création group (which brought together members of these groups) came into being in Paris on 15th February 1931. Founding members included Etienne Béothy, Auguste Herbin, Jean Hélion, Jean (Hans) Arp, Léon Tutundjian, Georges Vantongerloo and František Kupka, amongst others. The group’s artistic programme was reflected in its name, and it provided divergent positions in non-figurative art from abstract and concrete contexts, with a podium, bringing together Cubist, Constructivist, Neoplasticist and De Stjil artists.
The primary formal elements, which unified the group were geometric designs and rhythmically structured compositions. Between 1931 and its dissolution in 1936, the group held various exhibitions and put out a number of publications. Other members of the Abstraction-Création group included Alexander Calder, Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay-Terk, Antoine Pevsner, Naum Gabo, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart and Kurt Schwitters. The group continued to be influential, even after its dissolution, particularly in Switzerland.