In 1952 an exhibition called Ruptura was held at the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition marked the beginning of the concrete art movement in Brazil. The exhibition had been organised by seven artists who became the Grupo Ruptura after publishing the Ruptura Manifesto. As the name suggests, their desire was to break with the old, which in this case referred to a form of naturalist painting that was prevalent in Brazil at the time. Grupo Ruptura wanted a new art for a new country, one that promoted truth and rationality, and they believed this could be done through geometric abstraction.
The seven founding members of the group were Anatol Władysław, Leopoldo Haar, Lothar Charoux, Kazmer Féjer, Geraldo de Barros, Luiz Sacilotto and Waldemar Cordeiro. The group were later joined by Hermelindo Fiaminghi, Judith Lauand and Maurício Nogueira Lima.
