Grupo Madí and Asociación Arte Concreto-Invención are abstract art movements that originated in Argentina. Both emerged in Buenos Aires in the latter half of the 1940s. Each comprised a like-minded group of painters and sculptors working in constructivist and geometric modes of nonrepresentational art. These artists came together for the purposes of exhibiting and supporting rival, although closely related, theoretical platforms, which were expressed in manifestos, publications, and “happenings.” The artistic practices of both groups appeared radical by virtue of their experimentation with new and often industrial materials, and their break with conventional sculptural and pictorial formats; sculptures and reliefs often employed movable components that invited the spectator’s participation.

The story of both Arte Madí and Arte Concreto-Invención begins with a single publication: Arturo, a magazine that appeared only once, in 1944, but left a lasting mark on the Argentine avant-garde. Dedicated to the cause of abstract art in Argentina, Arturo brought together a group of young artists and thinkers—among them Carmelo Arden Quin, Gyula Kosice, Tomás Maldonado, Lidy Prati, Rhod Rothfuss, and the poet Edgar Bayley—who shared a desire to break with figurative traditions and imagine a new artistic language.

From this nucleus, two distinct movements soon emerged. In March 1946, Maldonado, together with Prati, Alfredo Hlito, Manuel Espinosa, Enio Iommi, Claudio Girola, Raúl Lozza, Alberto Molenberg, and others, formally founded the Asociación Arte Concreto-Invención. Their manifesto, paired with an exhibition at the Salón Peuser, announced a radical commitment to art as invention rather than representation. Just a few months later, in August of that same year, a parallel path opened when Arden Quin, Kosice, Rothfuss, Diyi Laañ, and Martín Blaszko presented the first Grupo Madí exhibition at the Instituto Francés de Estudios Superiores.

The origins of the name Madí remain shrouded in debate. Some argue it has no particular meaning, a word invented purely for its resonance. Others suggest it was conceived as an acronym—most convincingly, for “movimiento arte de invención”—a phrase that captures the group’s restless energy and inventive spirit.

In 1989, Miklos von Bartha met many artists, including Gyula Kosice, in their studios in Argentina, and later, the gallery showed their works in exhibitions in Basel. (Read here Miklos’ story, in which he recalls his first encounter with Arte Concreto and Arte Madí.)

When European institutions finally developed a keen interest in Latin American art in 1992—the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in America—some of these works found their way into the most prestigious collections in Europe.