Malba once again takes viewers closer to Le Parc’s magic universe

Fourteen years after his last retrospective in the country, Malba once again takes local viewers closer to Le Parc’s magic universe and pays tribute to one of the most remarkable Argentinean artists from the 20^th century, who was given the Grand International Painting Award during the 33^rd Venice Biennale back in 1966. Instead of organizing another retrospective on the master’s career, the organizers decided to make emphasis on one of the most important aspects of the artist’s work: his interest in the alteration of moving light.

The project was curated by Hans-Michael Herzog, Artistic Director and Curator of Daros Latinamerica Collection; Käthe Walser, Technical Curator with the institution and Victoria Giraudo, Executive Curatorship Coordinator with Malba. The public will have the opportunity to actively enjoy 17 light installations, displayed in two halls of the museum that total 1.076 square yards. “These moving light games modify space, permanently recreate it and dissolve it at the same time, thus including the observer in the overall artwork. The basic material substance of the multiple mechanic devises and light machines elegant and absolutely become immaterial elements”, Herzog explains.

Some of the emblematic and large-scale artworks included in the show are cylinder Continuel-lumière cylindre (Continuous-Light, 1962); mobile Continuel-mobil (Continuous-mobile, 1962-1996) and penetrable Cellule á pénétrer (Penetrable Cell, 1963 -2005), a multi-sensorial piece showed by the artist within the framework of Paris Biennale 1963 as a part of labyrinth L’ Instabilité (The Instability) by Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel (GRAV), a group co-founded by Le Parc in 1960 to look at the movement by analyzing the dynamic relation between viewer and artistic object. 

Along with his GRAV colleagues, Le Parc proposed in the 1960s a breaking with the artistic tradition that had prevailed until then, by putting the painting aside and getting closer to a dynamic conception of the artwork. Le Parc was willing to create works of art that would be in constant transformation and instability. His scientific-mechanic research gave birth to interesting light-and-shadow games, in which the participation of viewers completes the artwork with their presence. 

In a world where everything is organized, Le Parc tries to give mankind the opportunity to break the ruled existence. He wants to free observers from their dependence and make them take part in the action, by leading them into a total artwork and immersing viewers into that light experience.

This display also marks the beginning of the collaboration between Malba – Fundación Costantini and Casa Daros, a new institution of Daros Latinamerica collection, which was inaugurated in March 2013 in Botafogo, Río de Janeiro. Le Parc Lumière was first showcased there in October – February 2014. 

The Show will be open from July 11th to October 6th 2014.