Abstract Composition
Florence Henri American
Not on view
Initially a painter who studied under Fernand Léger, Henri turned to photography in 1927 after attending a summer course at the Bauhaus with László Moholy-Nagy. The influence of both heritages is apparent in this powerful abstract image. Henri arranges smooth, industrially produced objects—a round ball and a metal grate—against mirrors to create a play of space and reflective surface. Simultaneously, she imbues her objects with stasis and poise that resonates with the universalizing impulse of Purism, a painting movement advocated and practiced by such artists as Léger, Amédée Ozenfant, and Le Corbusier, which sought to depict the simple, essential geometries of everyday objects.