The dialogue between non-Western, modern and contemporary art
Pioneers of abstract art like Klee and Mondrian feared nothing so much as the comparison of their revolutionary achievements with ornament. Not without reason, for ornamentation had been producing non-figurative forms for thousands of years. In the course of modern art's development, abstraction repeatedly »blossomed out« in an ornamental way and today's contemporary painting cannot be discussed without reference to the concept of ornament.

The ending of the first century of abstract art and ornamentation's current relevance are a challenge to reformulate the question of ornament's importance in the emergence and development of non-figurative art. With its exhibition »Ornament and Abstraction«, the Fondation Beyeler is responding to this challenge for the first time, attempting to present this interaction in an easily understandable way by juxtaposing examples of modern and contemporary art with artefacts from many different civilisations.