The Earth

Julio Alpuy settled in New York in 1961, encouraged by his friend and compatriot Gonzalo Fonseca, who also lived in the city. Both artists were former members of the Taller Torres-García, an influential art school that promoted Modernism and abstract art in Uruguay, as explored in more depth in our first gallery. Seeking a more personal style, Alpuy decided to make sculptural reliefs out of the wood that he often found abandoned around his neighborhood. He embraced the Taller’s preference for humble materials and archetypal themes as points of departure, emphasizing the rough surface of the wood to create a new kind of abstracted landscape. Here, he depicts planet Earth teeming with life and floating in space near the pale moon, whose crescent shape is clearly marked. Surrounding them are stars and constellations, delicately incised into the surface of the work. Perhaps inspired by the dawn of space exploration, Alpuy produced a series of such works with cosmic themes during the early 1960s.