Len Lye Zebra 1965, 2009. Len Lye Foundation archive, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
Exhibition
17 Nov 2018 — 31 Mar 2019
Group Therapy
Audiences familiar with Len Lye will recognise an artist who could improvise on a theme. Group Therapy celebrates this trait with a trio of works demonstrating Lye’s interest in figures of motion and harmonic frequency.
Len Lye Rotating Harmonic 1959, 2010. Len Lye Foundation archive, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
Len Lye Watusi 1960 (2018). Len Lye Foundation Collection, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
Len Lye's kinetic sculpture Zebra performs in the exhibition Group Therapy at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre, Dec 2018 - Mar 2019. Photo Sam Hartnett
The well-known Rotating Harmonic leads the way as the quintessential Len Lye sculpture – one of the purest expressions of Lye’s kinetic vision – accompanied by the popular Zebra, one of the Len Lye Centre’s most popular and thrilling works.
Rounding out the family trio is Watusi, a newly commissioned reconstruction from the Len Lye Foundation collection. An early 1960s work, Watusi is a truly deep cut from the archives and guaranteed to be a new experience for fans of Lye’s work. Building on the kinetic principles behind Rotating Harmonic, Watusi takes further inspiration from the Watusi dance craze that was popular in the United States during the early 1960s, resulting in one of Lye’s most musically and rhythmically sophisticated works.
