
A key figure in the international avant-garde Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) was at once an extraordinary painter & art theoretician whose influence is as profound today as it ever was For Mondrian "the emotion of beauty is always hindered by particular appearance of an &object&; the object must therefore be abstracted from any figurative representation" After coining the term " Neo-plasticism" he pursued painting composed only of the most fundamental aspects of primary color (red yellow blue) against a grid of black vertical & horizontal lines & a white base background Mondrian&s vision was that this essential painting would help to achieve a society in which art as such has no place but rather exists for the total realization of &beauty& To contemporaries Mondrian represented an artist not only of absolute modernity but also of great integrity Today he remains one of the most distinctive practitioners in all of modern art the star of exhibitions around the world & an abiding inspiration for fashion art architecture & design from White Stripes album covers to Yves Saint Laurent dresses