Jean Tinguely

The Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely (1925–1991) remains to this day one of the world’s most significant figures in kinetic art. His complex mechanical sculptures and transport machines, often constructed from scrap and found objects, revolutionised the traditional concept of sculpture by establishing movement, chance, irony and transience as primary creative elements. These pioneering works exerted a lasting influence on subsequent generations of artists at the intersection of object art, performance and technology.
 

In order to preserve the processual and temporary nature of his moving machine sculptures for art-historical research, our media archive maintains a comprehensive selection of historical and contemporary exhibition documentation, which visually preserves Jean Tinguely’s complex kinetic installations in action.