In musical theory, dissonance means “a lack of harmony among musical notes.” Writing to Arnold Schoenberg in 1911, Wassily Kandinsky posited that “dissonance in painting and music is merely the consonance of ‘tomorrow.’” From then on, dissonance was an aesthetic element, an experience, that abstract artists often sought in their work. The subject of this exhibition is visual harmony and discordance. Artists in the show include Jean Arp, Daniel Buren, Donald Judd, Ellsworth Kelly, Pierre Soulages, and many others. As the German philosopher Theodor Adorno said, “Dissonance is the truth about harmony.” —Elena Clavarino