The Unframed Collection
Experience pieces from the largest 20th-century Latin American art collection in a new dimension. This 3D collection brings iconic works of geometric abstraction and material innovation into your world through augmented reality allowing you to place, explore, and interact with the art in your own physical space. Commentary by collector, Betty Duker.
01
Torre
Gregorio Vardanega
Betty places Vardanega’s Torre within her move toward “geometric infused figuration,” using it
as part of a broader effort to bring figuration into a collection that had become strongly
geometric. In this context, the work helps bridge abstraction and representation within the
collection.
02
Untitiled, 1962
David Siquerios
Betty describes this folding screen as a work by one of the great Mexican muralists, noting that it
is painted and signed on both sides and could almost unfold into a mural. She points to its vivid
imagery and sense of movement, connecting it to the artist’s political courage and the reasons he
was jailed.
04
(Scan with your phone to view in your space with AR!)
03
Jogo a Velha from the A 5 series
Cildo Meireles
Betty describes this work as being made from rulers that Meireles has manipulated and remeasured so they can no longer function properly. She notes that it is specifically a tic-tac-toe board where "no one's won," reading it as a comment on imposed order: you can try to force structure, but things will always go askew.
Neoconcrete Untitled Sculpture
Franz Weissman
This work embodies Weissmann’s concept of "active emptiness," where the space around and within the sculpture is as vital as the material itself. By cutting and folding industrial sheets of steel or aluminum, Weissmann strips the sculpture of its traditional mass, allowing it to "draw" in three dimensions. The absence of a traditional base forces a direct relationship with the floor and the viewer’s own body, inviting a physical navigation of its geometric planes. As the spectator moves, the rigid metal appears to transform, revealing a rhythmic dialogue between solid form and the surrounding void
05
Relevo Especial
Hélio Oiticla
For Betty, this work demands physical encounter. Hung low so viewers must move around and under it, the piece uses simple materials to create a complex structure that changes from every angle, reflecting Oiticica’s interest in interaction, color, and complexity within order.
06
Object Plastique No. 398
Luis Tomasello
Betty describes Tomasello as making art from simple materials like dowels from the hardware
store arranged in a perfectly symmetrical structure of squares within squares. What fascinates her
is that, although the piece is entirely geometric, it seems to create an orb or circle in the middle,
turning strict order into optical surprise.
07
Sculpture
Sergio Camargo
(Scan with your phone to view in your space with AR!)
An early figurative bronze that shows how dramatically Camargo evolved as an artist. Betty is struck by the shift from this expressive, wind-swept figure to his later geometric abstraction, while still sensing a connection between the two bodies of work.
08
Untitled 1982
Celso Renato
(Scan with your phone to view in your space with AR!)
This work highlights Renato’s late-career mastery of material reclamation and geometric abstraction. By applying precise, Constructivist forms onto the textured, weathered surfaces of discarded wood, Renato creates a dialogue between industrial history and artistic intervention. The piece emphasizes the tactile reality of its substrate, allowing the wood's natural imperfections to punctuate the balanced composition and inviting the viewer to find beauty in the intersection of the organic and the intentional.
09
Mujer Toro
Francisco Toledo
(Scan with your phone to view in your space with AR!)
Betty describes this work as a striking fusion of cubism and Mexican visual language. The figure is both woman and bull, carrying a bull mask and standing atop a pyramid, with colors and forms that evoke the Mexican landscape and Toledo’s deep connection to Oaxaca.
10
Sculpture 1965
Elsa Gramcko
Betty sees Gramcko’s work as distinct from what her male peers were making at the time. She describes it as beautifully rendered, in excellent condition, and hovering between geometry, surrealism, and figuration, with a strong sense of structure and bodily form.
11
Untitled 1968
Sergio Camargo
(Scan with your phone to view in your space with AR!)
Betty describes Camargo as an artist who transformed simple backyard trimmings into
something both geometric and alive. He cut branches into small white elements and assembled
them so that, while each part is precise and orderly, the whole feels organic. She also notes that
this particular Camargo carries strong linear movement, and that, unlike another Camargo in the
collection that “wants to be a sculpture,” this one “wants to be a painting.”
12
Mensaje
Mathias Goeritz
(Scan with your phone to view in your space with AR!)
Betty describes Mensaje as a gold-leaf work built over a hidden armature, part of a series in her collection where each painting carries a different pattern. What interests her is both its ritual quality from the repeated perforations to the sense of beading or pounding, and the way it evokes Mexican history and landscape through its browns, golds, and handcrafted surface. She also treats its aging as part of the work’s life, preferring to conserve rather than remake it.
13
Untitled (Smelling a Flower)
Rodolfo Morales
Betty says Morales's work carries many of the elements typical of his art: disembodied hands, flowing hair, and symbols like the wreath and rose drawn from the Mexican flag. She also points to the checkerboard geometry in the painting, which links this figurative work back to the geometric abstraction that defines much of the collection.
14
Frente al Rio
Lilia Carrillo
Frente al Río | Lilia Carrillo
Betty describes this painting as an outlier in the collection because it is neither geometric abstraction nor figurative, yet she finds it deeply compelling. She notes that the title refers to a river or riverbed running through the composition, while also embracing the openness of abstraction… how viewers may see something entirely their own in it.
15
No. 66
Sergio Camargo
Betty describes this Camargo as a work built from cut branches, just simple backyard trimmings transformed into a precise white geometric surface. What fascinates her is the tension between order and life: each unit is exact, yet together they feel organic, as if the piece is still growing and changing. Mounted on a long slab of Brazilian hardwood, she sees this work as especially linear and alive with movement.
3D Collection Credits:
Executive Producers: Jonathan Dern, Barbara Duker
Project Lead: Erin Reilly
Creative / 3D Production: Arthur, D2 Studios
Immersive Tech Lead: Jackson Alexander
3D Collection Support: Thomas Ybarra
Collection Steward and Primary Voice: Betty Duker
Curatorial Advisor: Teresa Iturralde
Video Series:
Executive Producers: Jonathan Dern, Barbara Duker
Directed by: Erin ReillyAssociate
Producer: Brad Dern
Videographer / Editor: Conrad Lihilihi
Featuring: Betty Duker
Interview with: Teresa Iturralde
3D Capture / Production Support: Arthur, D2 Studios
Faculty Advisor / Production Support: Rohitash Rao