Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910-1930

Exhibition at the Guggenheim, New York, November 8, 2024 - March 9, 2025

Orphism was born among a cosmopolitan group of artists active in Paris in the early 1910s, when the innovations of modern life were radically changing conceptions of time and space. Interested in the ideas of simultaneity in kaleidoscopic compositions, these artists explored the possibilities of transforming colour, form and movement. Their works often feature disks of brilliant colour and evoke multi-sensory experiences.

The term ‘orphism’ - a reference to Orpheus, the Greek mythological bard and lyre player whose music thwarted death - was coined by Guillaume Apollinaire to describe this physically and spiritually transcendent abstract art.

The first comprehensive examination of the Orphist avant-garde, this exhibition catalogue brings together ninety works by artists presented from the perspective of Orphism, including Sonia and Robert Delaunay, Mainie Jellett, František Kupka, Francis Picabia, Morgan Russell and Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso.
It traces the roots of Orphism and examines its interdisciplinary scope and transnational repercussions. Essays offer new perspectives, delineating Orphism's links with dance, music and poetry, and analysing the historical and cultural circumstances that shaped it.