British Constructivists - Knowledge (XXG)

116:"promoted the synthesis of painting, sculpture and architecture in the construction of a better environment for a new society. In later years, although the work still conformed to formal constructivist characteristic, this idealism was eroded and the primary focus became the internal logic of the art object, rather than any overt social or utilitarian function." 329:... The process is nuclear and it is in this that it differs from Constructivism. That is to say that one commences with a single cell, or unit, a logical process of growth is applied and ... the whole, or the effect, is unforeseen until the work is complete". 190:, was still strong. After the Second World War, many art administrators, dealers and critics felt that the initial interest in abstract art developed on the continent would soon diminish. Many leading members of the British art establishment, such as 46:

mode, with no formal membership or manifesto. The groups most active period was between 1951 to 1955, when its members exhibited in ten London exhibitions, produced two broadsheets and were involved in the publication of two books on abstract art.

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gallery, organised by Heath with the help of Kenneth Martin and Pasmore. Martin, who himself had broken away from figurative art in the winter of 1949–50, exhibited his first abstract paintings in the summer of 1950.

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art is defined by art historian Alastair Grieve as "non-figurative art that was not abstracted from the appearance of nature but constructed from within and built up of balanced relations of clear, geometric forms."

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to tour England and Wales in April 1963. Of the Constructionists, Hill, Kenneth and Mary Martin and Wise showed. The exhibition also included works by a younger generation of pupils and associates:

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The influence of Pasmore, Kenneth and Mary Martin and Hill - as art teachers and writers - on a younger generation of British abstract artists is reflected in the formation of the later

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Although Pasmore had converted from figurative to abstract art as early as 1948, it was not until 1951 that other abstract artists started to exhibit with Pasmore, who was a member of

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In Britain, the opportunity to see abstract art from the continent was rare, and so London art schools after the war became important testing grounds for new abstract art.

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in March 1952 at Adrian Heath's studio in 22 Fitzroy Street, London. It was advertised as a weekend exhibition of sculptures, mobiles, paintings and constructions by

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in August 1956. It was organised around a constructivist theme and included architects, painters and sculptors. Contributing members of the group included:

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In 1969 Pasmore left to live in Malta, ceasing to make constructed reliefs. Early that year Kenneth Martin, Mary Martin and Anthony Hill were invited by

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exhibition was held in May 1953 at 22 Fitzroy Street, showing also furniture and photomurals. As well as the six core Constructionists, there included

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art "... is not the reduction to a simple form of the complex scene before us. It is the building by simple elements of an expressive whole."

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of abstract paintings, constructions, sculptures and mobiles was held in July 1952 at 22 Fitzroy Street, this time including words by

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Pasmore accepted a job in Newcastle in 1954, which started to affect group cohesion. In January 1955, Adrian Heath organised the

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in June 1960 at the Helmhaus Museum, Zurich, in which Victor Pasmore, Mary Martin, Kenneth Martin and Anthony Hill took part.

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was formed in Düsseldorf in 1922, with no British members. At that time the British art world was influenced by critics like

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Many other exhibitions were held in the mid to late sixties to which former members of the group contributed. Notable is

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In Britain, the only significant event in the field of constructive art occurred in 1937, when a book entitled

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contributed; however it did little to promote the work of the English artists in North America.

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is the first to examine the work of this group in detail, followed by Alan Fowler's PhD thesis

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Constructive art developed much later in Britain than on the European continent, where the

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As the Second World War threatened, many artists left Europe to move to London, including

1203:"The Geometry of Syntactics, Semantics and Pragmatics: Anthony Hill's Concrete Paintings" 1637: 1532: 560:, together with a book of the same title. The nine featured artists were: Robert Adams, 1606: