Julio Le Parc. En movimiento
March 6 – April 26
Born in Mendoza, Argentina, in 1928. Lives and works in Paris.
Julio Le Parc is one of the most recognisable and pioneering figures in the field of kinetic and op-art. In 1960 he founded the influential Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel (GRAV) together with artists Horacio Garcia Rossi, Francisco Sobrino, François Morellet, Joël Stein and Jean-Pierre Vasarely (Yvaral). Since the mid-twentieth century, Le Parc has developed a fruitful career with vibrant works and immersive installations created on the basis of rigorous systems of composition and correlation of forms.
In parallel to his shared thinking with other artists, Le Parc has developed a pioneering body of work in the field of kinetic and optical art, with investigations into the instability of perception leading to important works involving light and movement.
Applying organisational principles to his paintings, from the use of fourteen colour scales to infinite and rigorous combinations of white, grey and black, Le Parc places the viewer at the centre. Through optical devices involving sequences, rotations and progressions, he invites them to revitalise their ability to look, react, reflect, compare and create.
Le Parc has had solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Met Museum, New York; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Tabakalera, San Sebastian; Pérez Art Museum, Miami; Serpentine Gallery, London; Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; among many others. His work revolves around constant experimentation, which has earned him awards such as the International Grand Prize for Painting at the 33rd Venice Biennale in 1966.
His work has been included in group exhibitions on optical and kinetic art at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; MoMA, New York; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Grand Palais, Paris; Palazzo Grassi, Venice; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington; Centre Pompidou, Paris and Metz, among others.
His work is in the collections of institutions such as MoMA, New York; Tate Gallery, London; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires; Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome, among others.