“I am a movement artist. I started with painting, but I got stuck, I was at a dead end.” Jean Tinguely (1925-1991) was an early pioneer of kinetic art. The Swiss sculptor described his practice as being all about motion, undefinable by traditional, “static” terminology. It’s an approach that can be traced back to Marcel Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel (1913), followed by the 1930s mobiles of Alexander Calder all the way up to today, where modern technology and digital programming has enabled the likes of Studio Drift and Sougwen Chung to use drones and robotics to emulate movements of the natural world.
Tinguely was a trailblazer of 20th century art. He was one of the first to use found objects and weld them together to create cacophonous systems, enlivened by real motors. In the 1950s and 1960s, he built a series of Méta-matics, designed to make abstract drawings. This challenged the role of the artist and the assumption that automated systems had to be useful. Méta-matic no 17 was one of his first creations, producing an unending scroll of inky shapes. Later on, he made larger mechanisms, such as Requiem pour une feuille morte (1967). It’s a monumental structure, where countless wheels spin in mesmerising harmony.
Now, Pirelli HangarBicocca unveils a centenary show that honours the landmark contributions of such an innovative practitioner. It marks the most comprehensive retrospective of his work in Italy since the artist’s death, consisting of over 30 pieces made between the 1950s and the 1990s. Machines are the beating heart of this exhibition, which invites viewers into a space that spotlights their inherent poetry.
Pirelli HangarBicocca, Jean Tinguely | Until 2 February
Words: Diana Bestwish Tetteh
Image Credits:
- Jean Tinguely, Requiem pour une feuille morte, 1967 (detail) Installation view, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, 1987, Courtesy Magnum Photos. Jean Tinguely © SIAE, 2024 Photo René Burri.
- Jean Tinguely Le Gorille de Niki, 1963 Iron plate, wrought iron, steel bars, plastic toy gorilla, electric motor 110 V, black paint 60 x 25 x 20 cm Courtesy Galerie GP & N Vallois Jean Tinguely © SIAE, 2024 Photo Clérin Morin / Private collection.
- Jean Tinguely Vive la Muerta (sic. in spanish the right expression is «Viva la Muerte !»), 1963 Steel plate as support, metal electric motor 79 x 19 x 24 cm Courtesy Galerie GP & N Vallois Jean Tinguely © SIAE, 2024 Photo Clérin Morin / Private Collection.
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