Sandu Darie ROMANIAN, 1908-1991

As a key figure in the Latin American Concrete Art movement, Romanian-born artist Sandu Darie is credited with bringing modern Cuban art to wider international attention. Darie relocated to Cuba in 1941 amid the rise of Stalinism; he became a pivotal member of the Cuban avant-garde, and later represented the country in the 1953 Bienal de São Paulo. As a member of the Arte Madí and Los Diez Pintores Concretos groups, Darie advocated for the use of non-representational, geometric abstraction in Latin America and developed ties with like-minded South American concrete artists like Slovakian-Argentine Gyula Kosice. Darie’s combination of primary colors, geometric shapes, and vertical and horizontal lines demonstrate the influence of Piet Mondrian’s Neoplasticism on his practice, while his kinetic sculptures invite viewers to interact with them, crafting their own geometries.