Relief no. 12B

César DomelaWW-1936-136631

1936·Masonite, wood, cellulose acetate rods, plastic sheet, metal, brass, paint·Diam.: 106.7 cm (42 in.); D.: 15.3 cm (6 in.)

<p>Among César Domela's most ambitious "neoplastic reliefs," <em>Relief no. 12B</em> is notable not only for its large size but also for its complex construction from overlapping hollow and solid disks. One of the youngest members of the Dutch art movement De Stijl, Domela made his first relief in 1929, using wood, metallic paint, and metal rods to create three-dimensional rectangular compositions that resemble geometric paintings yet extend into the space of the viewer by projecting off the wall. When Plexiglas was invented in 1933, Domela became one of the first artists to embrace it as a material, using it and other plastics to enhance the play of light within his works, and generate new physical and optical textures and patterns.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1936
Medium: Masonite, wood, cellulose acetate rods, plastic sheet, metal, brass, paint
Dimensions: Diam.: 106.7 cm (42 in.); D.: 15.3 cm (6 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: César Domela

Artist

César Domela

Printmaking

César Domela was a Dutch abstract artist and pioneer of constructivism who worked across painting, sculpture, and graphic design from the early twentieth century onwards. His geometric compositions employed primary colors, clean lines, and industrial materials to articulate utopian modernist ideals. Active in avant-garde movements including De Stijl's orbit and later constructivist circles, Domela developed a rigorous formal language that bridged European abstraction and functionalist design principles. His work maintained fidelity to geometric reduction and spatial clarity throughout a career spanning nearly a century.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

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