GALLERY 11

Challenging Modernity

Ideas of modernity and progress, which had been exported globally by Western colonialism and industrialisation, were brought into question during the 20th century. The arts became subject to constant questioning and reinvention, reflecting the disruption caused by imperialism, two world wars and decolonisation, producing radical movements such as Cubism, Abstraction and the imaginative universe of the Surrealism. Echoing the remarkable pace of modern life, the rapid succession of artistic movements constantly opened new perspectives as artistic boundaries were continually redefined and extended. Avant-garde movements in Paris and elsewhere in Europe attracted artists from all over the world and the growing influence of North American artists coincided with the broadening of artistic horizons to encompass the world as a whole.