Endless Possibilities: Geometric Abstraction

Camille Louis Graeser
(1892–1980, Switzerland)
'Komplementäres Spannungsfeld', 1966–67
Oil on canvas
120 x 120 cm
UBS Art Collection
© 2025, ProLitteris, Zurich

Camille Graeser was a Swiss painter and a key figure in the Concrete Art movement. Originally trained as an interior architect in Stuttgart, he worked in graphic and product design before fully dedicating himself to art in the 1930s after relocating to Zurich.

Graeser began to approach his formal artistic language systematically, employing geometric elements in his work. He also incrementally applied mathematical principles to his compositions, exploring space and the relationships between complementary and contrasting colors, often in the form of squares that may be slightly rotated in sequence or precariously balanced. In Komplementäres Spannungsfeld (1966-67) the colors appear to stand in opposition, but the lines and planes interact in a balanced interplay. This systematic order is representative of Graeser’s continuous investigation of the tension between stability and movement.

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