Juan Melé

Why this artist matters now

Juan Melé was an Argentine artist and founding member of the Madí movement, which emerged in Buenos Aires in the 1940s as a radical geometric abstraction practice emphasizing irregular, non-rectangular formats and dynamic color relationships. Working primarily in oil and gouache on irregularly shaped supports, Melé rejected the rectilinear canvas in favor of organic and geometric forms that challenged the conventions of modernist painting. His work from the postwar period forward combined constructivist principles with a distinctly South American sensibility, establishing him as a key figure in Latin American abstraction during the mid-twentieth century.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 25d ago