Robert Breer's Floats Reunited at CAPC Bordeaux and gb agency

Two concurrent exhibitions in Bordeaux and Paris revisit the work of American artist Robert Breer (1926–2011). At CAPC Musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux (November 19, 2010 – February 27, 2011), around twenty of his motorized geometric sculptures—known as Floats—are displayed in the museum's vast nave. These polyhedral forms, mounted on tiny hidden wheels, move randomly and almost imperceptibly, creating an aleatory ballet. Breer's work bridges American minimalism and European kinetic art, with close ties to Pol Bury. Unlike Bury, Breer's entire sculpture moves, altering perception. Breer studied in Paris in the early 1950s, initially focusing on experimental film and abstract painting. He created his first Floats in 1965 but abandoned them due to lack of success; they resurfaced in the late 1990s. The Bordeaux exhibition marks a revival. Simultaneously, gb agency in Paris (November 20, 2010 – January 15, 2011) presents a new ceiling-mounted Float (Clouds, 2010) alongside his early films and abstract paintings, drawing connections between them.