Universe
Len Lye Foundation Collection, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
Photo: Tyler Cann
Exhibition
8 May — 25 Jul 2021
Len Lye Tangibles: 1963 - 1969
Tangibles: 1963-1969 is the second of two exhibitions presenting a chronological overview of Lye’s kinetic sculpture.
Witch Dance, 1965 (2016 reconstruction)
Len Lye Foundation Collection, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
Photo: Mark Dwyer
Tangibles: 1963-1969 installation view, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre, 2021. Len Lye Foundation Collection. Image Bryan James.
Tangibles: 1963-1969 installation view, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery / Len Lye Centre, 2021. Len Lye Foundation Collection. Image Bryan James.
Albatross, 1965 (2015 reconstruction)
Len Lye Foundation Collection, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
Famed for his groundbreaking experimental films of the 1930s to the 1950s, Len Lye found further acclaim in the kinetic art scene of the 1960s with his unique approach to kinetic sculpture. Lye’s ‘Tangible Motion Sculpture’ stood apart from the works of contemporary sculptors, to be considered performances more than sculptural objects.
Lye’s tangibles were not simply the depiction of motion but the feeling of motion and by the mid-1960s, Lye’s were an established part of the American art scene, featuring in exhibitions across the United States of America, surveying both the discipline of kinetic art and the wider field of ‘American’ art.
This exhibition presents some of Lye’s most well-known and acclaimed tangibles, Universe and Storm King with lesser known examples such as the recently reconstructed Wand Dance and Albatross.
Paul Brobbel, Len Lye Curator
Emma Glučina, Len Lye Curatorial Assistant
