Construction

Diller's encounter in 1933 with the work and writings of Dutch de Stijl artists such as Piet Mondrian resulted in a radical shift in his art. Here he incorporated key elements of the de Stijl aesthetichorizontal and vertical lines, primary colors, and blackinto a three–dimensional relief construction, a format of particular interest to many artists in the 1920s and 1930s, as a means of exploring the spatial possibilities of painting. After his arrival in New York in 1940, Mondrian joined the American Abstract Artists, a group Diller had co-founded with Ilya Bolotowsky and others in 1936.

Credit: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Armand P. Bartos