Angela Thomas

Against the backdrop of historical events in Switzerland and Europe, the author explores the diverse connections of Max Bill to the pioneers of concrete-constructive art, including Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Josef Albers, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Hans Arp, Georges Vantongerloo, and others. Through reflections on Max Bill's time at the Bauhaus Dessau, his ties to the circles of the Parisian avant-garde of the 1930s, his membership in Abstraction-Création, and his lifelong friendship with artist Georges Vantongerloo, along with excursions to the Zurich Concretes Richard Paul Lohse and Verena Loewensberg, the author paints a comprehensive picture of the influential artistic-intellectual networks in which Bill operated during the 1940s and beyond.

Max Bill played an extraordinary role as a mediator between the early modern movement and a younger generation of concrete artists. His significance as an exhibition organizer, publicist, and publisher is discussed, as well as his formative influence on the development of concrete art in Latin America and his engagement with urban planning and reconstruction issues during and after World War II.