Soto's Immersive 'Pénétrable BBL Jaune' Transforms Paris Architecture Museum

Key facts

• Jesús Rafael Soto's 'Pénétrable BBL Jaune' (1999) is on display at the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine in Paris.
• The installation is a cube of thousands of fine yellow tubes suspended from a metal structure, occupying about 150 cubic meters.
• Visitors walk through the piece, becoming part of the artwork.
• Soto was a Venezuelan pioneer of kinetic art and geometric abstraction.
• He began the 'Pénétrables' series in the late 1960s.
• A precursor was shown at the 1966 Venice Biennale at the Venezuelan Pavilion.
• The first full 'Pénétrable' was presented at Galerie Denise René in 1967.
• A monumental version was installed outside the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 1969.
• The exhibition is curated by art historian Matthieu Poirier and focuses solely on this masterpiece.
• The installation is placed before large windows overlooking the Trocadéro, interacting with natural light.
• The exhibition runs until August 31, 2026.
• The venue is the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, 1 Place du Trocadéro, Paris.