Kinetic art pioneer Julio Le Parc dies at 98
Julio Le Parc, the Argentine-born artist known for his kinetic and Op Art works, has died. He moved to Paris in 1958 and began creating abstract paintings with systematic grids. In the 1960s he turned to sculpture using Plexiglas, and later introduced light and distorted mirrors. Le Parc was a founding member of Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel (GRAV) and was briefly expelled from France after the 1968 unrest. He won the International Grand Prize for Painting at the 1966 Venice Biennale. Recent solo exhibitions include the Serpentine Galleries in 2025, and a retrospective at Tate Modern opens this month.
Key facts
- Julio Le Parc has died at age 98.
- He was known for kinetic and Op Art works.
- He moved to Paris in 1958 and began abstract paintings.
- He used Plexiglas in sculptures from the 1960s.
- He introduced light to his work in 1968.
- He was a founding member of GRAV.
- He was expelled from France after 1968 unrest.
- He won the International Grand Prize for Painting at the 1966 Venice Biennale.
- A retrospective at Tate Modern opens this month.
Entities
Artists
- Julio Le Parc
- Charlie Chaplin
- Yamil Le Parc
- Juan Le Parc
- Gabriel Le Parc
- Lucio Fontana
- Victor Vasarely
- Jesús Rafael Soto
- Carlos Cruz-Diez
- Horacio García Rossi
- François Morellet
- Francisco Sobrino
- Joël Stein
- Jean-Pierre Yvaral
- Antonio Berni
- Lino Enea Spilimbergo
- Hugo Demarco
- Yvaral
- Piet Mondrian
- Catherine Wood
Institutions
- Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel (GRAV)
- Serpentine Galleries
- Daros Foundation
- Palais de Tokyo
- Tate Modern
- Bienal de São Paulo
- Venice Biennale
- Le Monde
- Galería RGR
- Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV)
- Biennale di Venezia
- Palazzo delle Papesse
- Centro Cultural Kirchner
- Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
- Teatro Colón
- Galleria Continua
- American Hospital of Paris
- École supérieure des beaux-arts de Buenos Aires
- Galerie Denise René
- Groupe de recherche d'art visuel (GRAV)
- Biennale de Venise
- Maison de l'Amérique latine
- Centre Pompidou-Metz
- Grand Palais
- Pérez Art Museum Miami
- Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Buenos Aires
- Centre Pompidou
- MAC VAL
- Cnap
- Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Cholet
- Musée d'Art moderne de Paris
- MAMCS de Strasbourg
- Christie's New York
- Artprice
- Le Journal des Arts
- GRAV – Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel
- Scuola Nazionale di Belle Arti
- Howard Wise Gallery
- Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris
- Kunsthalle Düsseldorf
- Elettrofiamma
- Castello di Boldeniga
- Galerías Pacífico
- MoMA
- Tate
- Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel
- School of Fine Arts
- GRAV
- Met Breuer
- La Nación
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Buenos Aires
- Argentina
- São Paulo
- Brazil
- Venice
- Italy
- Mexico City
- Mexico
- Palmira
- Mendoza
- Siena
- London
- United Kingdom
- Cachan
- Miami
- United States
- New York
- Cholet
- Strasbourg
- Brescia
- Düsseldorf
- Germany