Editing Geometric abstraction (section)

==Scholarly analysis==
[[File:Piet Mondriaan, 1939-1942 - Composition 10.jpg|thumb|alt=Piet Mondriaan abstract painting "Composition No. 10" from 1939 to 1942|[[Piet Mondrian]], ''Composition No. 10'', 1939–1942, oil on canvas]]
Throughout 20th-century art historical discourse, critics and artists working within the [[reductionism|reductive]] or pure strains of abstraction have often suggested that geometric abstraction represents the height of a non-objective art practice, which necessarily stresses or calls attention to the root plasticity and two-dimensionality of painting as an artistic medium. Thus, it has been suggested that geometric abstraction might function as a solution to problems concerning the need for modernist painting to reject the illusionistic practices of the past while addressing the inherently two dimensional nature of the picture plane as well as the canvas functioning as its support. [[Wassily Kandinsky]], one of the forerunners of pure non-objective painting, was among the first modern artists to explore this geometric approach in his abstract work. Other examples of pioneer abstractionists such as [[Kasimir Malevich]] and [[Piet Mondrian]] have also embraced this approach towards abstract painting. Mondrian's painting "Composition No. 10" (1939–1942) clearly defines his radical but classical approach to the construction of horizontal and vertical lines, as Mondrian wrote, "constructed with awareness, but not with calculation, led by high intuition, and brought to harmony and rhythm."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mondrian's Philosophy of Visual Rhythm|last=Tosaki|first=Eiichi|publisher=Springer|year=2017|isbn=978-9402411980|pages=110}}</ref>

Just as there are both two-dimensional and three-dimensional geometries, the abstract sculpture of the 20th century was of course no less affected than painting by geometricizing tendencies. [[Georges Vantongerloo]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=6091|title=The Collection: Georges Vantongerloo|publisher=The Museum of Modern Art|access-date=April 24, 2015}}</ref> and [[Max Bill]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/14/obituaries/max-bill-85-painter-sculptor-and-architect-in-austere-style.html|author=Smith, Roberta|date=December 14, 1994|title=Max Bill, 85, Painter, Sculptor And Architect in Austere Style|work=New York Times|access-date=April 24, 2015}}</ref> for example, are perhaps best known for their geometric sculpture, although both of them were also painters; and indeed, the ideals of geometric abstraction find nearly perfect expression in their titling (e.g., Vantongerloo's "Construction in the Sphere") and pronouncements (e.g., Bill's statement that "I am of the opinion that it is possible to develop an art largely on the basis of mathematical thinking.") Expressionist abstract painting, as practiced by artists such as [[Jackson Pollock]], [[Franz Kline]], [[Clyfford Still]], and [[Wols]], represents the opposite of geometric abstraction.