Relief no. 12B, César Domela, 1936
César Domela, portraitCésar DomelaDutch, 1900–1992

Relief no. 12B

1936 · Sculpture

Can I see it?

Yes, on view now

Where is “Relief no. 12B” now? Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 393, Chicago. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Room393

Closing soon· until 5:00 PM

On public display.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum

About the sculpture

Among César Domela's most ambitious "neoplastic reliefs," Relief no. 12B is notable not only for its large size but also for its complex construction from overlapping hollow and solid disks. One of the youngest members of the Dutch art movement De Stijl, Domela made his first relief in 1929, using wood, metallic paint, and metal rods to create three-dimensional rectangular compositions that resemble geometric paintings yet extend into the space of the viewer by projecting off the wall. When Plexiglas was invented in 1933, Domela became one of the first artists to embrace it as a material, using it and other plastics to enhance the play of light within his works, and generate new physical and optical textures and patterns.

Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0

Details

Accession number
2024.285

What it shows

In the catalog

Sources

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In the same room · Gallery 393, Art Institute of Chicago

Museum page

On the same theme · Abstraction

All works on the theme