Cercle et Carré at GMOA

Modernist painting has a very strong pull and appeal, whether or not one is familiar with its history. The forms and images that were created in the early part of the 20th century speak to something elemental within all of us, a natural aesthetic ease accessed by painting, music and literature that is simple yet challenging. It's a dichotomy to which we respond well - and at least one reason that the work of Paul Klee, Erik Satie and James Joyce have enjoyed such staying power. We enjoy the elegance and complexity of the imagery.

To take this discussion to a much higher level than I can do here, the Georgia Museum of Art is presenting a symposium on the modernist artists’ group Cercle et Carré on Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

"The group's 1930 exhibition is widely considered a landmark event in the history of modernism, and many of the participants are well known, but their journal and exhibition have been little studied before now," Boland said. "There are also a number of lesser known participants long past due for ‘rediscovery,' something the exhibition and the mini-symposium hope to encourage."

Well known members of Cercle et Carré also included Wassily Kandinsky, Le Corbusier, Fernand Léger, Piet Mondrian, Kurt Schwitters and Sophie Taueber-Arp.

The symposium features Franklin College faculty members Jed Rasula (department of English), Nell Andrew and Janice Simon (school of art), plus Catherine Dossin of Purdue University on a panel moderated by curator Lynn Boland of the Georgia Museum. Should be a great event. Free and open to the public

Image: Wassily Kandinsky's "Tension in Red" will be part of the exhibition "Cercle et Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art" on display Oct. 12 through Jan. 5 at the Georgia Museum of Art. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris (Kandinsky)