Julio Le Parc, Master of Kinetic Art, Dies at 97 Ahead of Tate Modern Retrospective

Julio Le Parc, the Argentine-French kinetic artist known for his hypnotic optical works, died at 97 just two weeks before the opening of his monographic exhibition at Tate Modern in London. The exhibition, titled 'Light, Colour, Action,' runs for eleven months and features his iconic moving sculptures and light installations. Le Parc's sons Juan and Yamil, who worked closely with him, opened their father's 2,000-square-meter studio in Cachan, a Paris suburb, to reveal his vast archive. Le Parc co-founded the GRAV (Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel) in 1960 with François Morellet, Horacio García Rossi, Francisco Sobrino, Joël Stein, and Yvaral, focusing on optical and kinetic art. He won the Grand Prix international de peinture at the 1966 Venice Biennale, shocking the art world. His work, characterized by 'visual instability,' uses 14 colors derived from Newton's color theory and engages viewers as active participants. Le Parc was also a political activist, opposing US cultural hegemony and Latin American dictatorships, and was briefly expelled from France in 1968. The Tate exhibition includes pieces like 'Continuel-lumière-cylindre' (1962–2012) and 'Blue Sphere' (2013), with all works running continuously, a condition his sons insisted upon against museum norms. The retrospective follows his 2014–2015 show at Serpentine North Gallery and aims to further recognition of Latin American artists in Anglo-Saxon countries.