“Adventures of the Black Square” at Whitechapel Gallery. Pic: Anna Senkara and Alexandra Kachenova

The Whitechapel Gallery has kick-started a major new exhibition tracing a century of abstract art.

The display will celebrate the centenary of “Black Square”, the work of the late Russian Artist Kazimir Malevich, by reflecting on art as it relates to society and politics.

The exhibition, entitled “Adventures of the Black Square”, includes more than 100 works by 100 modern and contemporary artists, such as Carl Andre, Aleksander Rodchenko, Gabriel Orozco and Andrea Zittel.

Famous paintings, sculptures and photographs are brought together from several galleries worldwide, including Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh and the Tate in London.

Organisers of the exhibition told Eastlondonlines that the works of art are just as relevant today as they were one hundred years ago. They also said it took years of hard work to bring such a diverse range of artwork together.

Magnus af Petersens, chief curator of the Whitechapel Gallery, explained that the exhibition aims to showcase the rich possibilities of abstract art and how it interacts with society.

He said he holds the view that art can make people think more “openly” and give them an insight into the relationship that existed between dictators and artists years ago. While he believes that art can be a political weapon, he maintains that it has many other “purposes and possibilities”.

The exhibition opened yesterday and will run until April 6 2015.​

Video by Anna Senkara and Alexandra Kachenova