Takis

Takis,White Cube bermondsey

Born Panagiotis Vassilakis in Athens in 1925, Takis took art into realms previously the domain of physicists and engineers. Organised in close collaboration with the artist’s estate, this exhibition, the first in Europe following his death in 2019, features key works from his private collection. Including important examples from his best-known series from the 1950s to the 2000s, the selection reflects Takis’ lifelong exploration of invisible energies as a ‘fourth dimension’ in art. Marcel Duchamp famously dubbed him the ‘ploughman of magnetic fields’, and this presentation highlights the many profound and poetic innovations of this singular, self-described ‘intuitive scientist’.

The exhibition features works made throughout Takis’ long career, starting with early bronze sculptures of the 1950s inspired by ancient Cycladic figurines; then his breakthrough ‘Magnetrons’ of the 1960s that use magnetism to suspend objects in space; and a number of 1980s sculptures, including a large, outdoor ‘Aeolian’ that rotates in the wind and a bronze, body-cast ‘Erotic’ that explores ‘magnetic’ attraction between humans. Later works of the 1990s include the reconfigurable, monochrome ‘Magnetic Wall – The 4th Dimension’ paintings, which use the invisible forces connecting magnets and iron wires to create an infinite number of compositions on the surface of the canvas.

Duration 12 May 2021 - 27 June 2021
Times Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 6pm Sunday 12pm - 6pm
Cost Free - advance booking required
Venue White Cube - Bermondsey Street
Address 144 – 152 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3TQ
Contact / enquiries@whitecube.com / http://whitecube.com/

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