Allianzen

Max Bill was still a student when, in 1925, two of his works were exhibited at the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs in Paris, at the invitation of Sophie Taeuber-Arp. In 1933, again in Paris, the young architect and artist joined an association that included Taeuber-Arp and her husband Hans Arp: Abstraction-Création. This marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration and a lifelong friendship. Collectively, the association, which also included Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Georges Vantongerloo, decided to turn away from all figurative art, organized exhibitions, and published an almanac. Theories were formulated, and methods were tested. Even after the dissolution of Abstraction-Création, Bill, Arp, and Taeuber-Arp remained connected, partly through the Swiss group "Allianz" and partly through the magazine Plastique/Plastic, which aimed to promote the transatlantic exchange of the constructive avant-garde at a time when countless artists had already turned their backs on Europe. Incorporating many previously unpublished materials, this volume illuminates the artistic and intellectual presence of Arp, Taeuber-Arp, and Bill in significant artist groups and magazines of the 1930s and 1940s, the emergence of collective communication forms, forward-thinking ideas, and artworks.