Soto was part of the group known as Los Disidentes. Although the group was short-lived and his active involvement was brief, it played a significant role in inspiring Venezuelan artists to embrace the world of abstract art.
Jesús Rafael Soto, a Venezuelan artist born in Ciudad Bolívar in 1923, became one of the foremost representatives of kinetic art. Early on, he developed a keen interest in geometric art and constructivism, which naturally led to his fascination with the works of artists like Malevich and Mondrian.
His early steps in the Caracas art scene led to the formation of friendships with fellow artists such as Carlos Cruz-Diez and Alejandro Otero, with whom he later moved to Paris. Once in Paris, he reconnected with more Venezuelan peers and briefly joined their group, Los Disidentes. This group, formed by young Venezuelans who had relocated to Paris in the mid-1940s, sought to explore new artistic trends and break away from the traditional landscape painting and social realism that dominated Venezuelan art at the time.
This group, formed by young Venezuelans who had relocated to Paris in the mid-1940s, sought to explore new artistic trends and break away from the traditional landscape painting and social realism that dominated Venezuelan art at the time.
The group was formed in 1950 and comprised numerous artists, including Pascual Navarro, Alejandro Otero, Mateo Manaure, Luis Guevara Moreno, Carlos González Bogen, Narciso Debourg, Perán Erminy, Rubén Núñez, Dora Hersen, Aimée Battistini, and J.R. Guillén Pérez. Later, other Venezuelan artists, such as Soto and Cruz-Diez, joined the group. They published a magazine of the same name, although it only ran for five issues. The magazine, which served as the group’s primary platform for expression, openly criticized the foundations of artistic tradition, expressing skepticism toward it, and advocated for a complete break from that reality in order to transcend it. This movement led to the emergence of a more radical form of art known as geometric abstraction.
This movement led to the emergence of a more radical form of art known as geometric abstraction.
Los Disidentes authored the 'Manifiesto No,' a public declaration in which they promoted abstractionism and criticized the academicism of Venezuelan art. They also initiated experimentation with neo-figurative art, abstraction, and other contemporary movements, breaking away from figurative traditions and revitalizing traditional Venezuelan painting.
Los Disidentes authored the 'Manifiesto No,' a public declaration in which they promoted abstractionism and criticized the academicism of Venezuelan art
This anti-figurative and anti-traditional environment, combined with Soto’s own interest in abstraction, led him to develop an art aligned with these qualities. Although the group was short-lived, the brief period Soto spent immersed in that atmosphere deeply influenced him, allowing abstraction to take root in his work. Over time, his art evolved beyond the constraints of two-dimensionality, eventually incorporating movement as a defining element.