The term concrete art was coined by the Dutch artist

Theo van Doesburg in 1930, referring to works of art that

are exclusively based on purely plastic elements, such

as color, line and plane, thereby forming an independent

concrete reality. Accompanied by a new interest in how

we perceive and process visual impressions, insights from

perception psychology have been artistically explored to

create dynamic and living images.







Over the past 50 years, the Norwegian art collector Erling

Neby has built an extraordinary collection of geometric

and concrete art. Encompassing European, American and

Nordic art, the main focus is on works from the post-war

years, including leading figures such as Victor Vasarely,

Max Bill, Auguste Herbin, Josef Albers, Aase Texmon Rygh

and Olle Bærtling, as well as new generations of artists

who, in different ways, use a geometric-abstract form of

expression. This catalogue documents a major exhibition

at the Kode Art Museum in Bergen featuring more than

100 works from the collection, which-through its truly personal

selectionoffers a complex picture of artistic positions,

and the impact of geometric and concrete art.