Jean Tinguely (1925-1991) was born in 1922 in Fribourg, Switzerland and lived
in Basel. There he attended the General Trade School, and worked as an interior
decorator before moving to Paris in 1952. In Paris, he was a neighbor of Constantin
Brancusi and met Yves Klein and Niki de Saint Phalle. His first exhibition in
Paris, of relief sculptures, was in 1954, and he showed his first ‘machine’
sculptures in 1959. In the early 1960’s, Tinguely was associated with the
New Realists, artists including Arman, Raymond Hains, Yves Klein, Martial Raysse
and Daniel Spoerri.
Made from scrap metal and found objects, painted a uniform black, Tinguely’s
sculptures are powered by electricity to perform as busy but functionless machines.
With the sounds of motors, drive belts and assorted metal parts moving at different
speeds, Tinguely created works he termed ‘Meta-Harmonies’ or ‘sound
mixing machines’ as forms and sounds form ever changing, random compositions.
For buying and selling original work please contact the gallery.
