Action <-> Reaction is a revival of the 2013 Paris exhibition ‘Dynamo’ and is realised in close collaboration with Kunsthal Rotterdam and the Réunion des musées nationaux – Grand Palais in Paris. Kinetic art is a twentieth-century abstract art movement that experimented with light and movement, contributing to the dematerialization of art. The exhibition places historical kinetic artworks in the context of today’s performative arts, for which the experiences of movement and sight have regained a central position.
It features around eighty works of the most famous artists who contributed to the development of the kinetic art movement, from pioneers such as Marcel Duchamp and Alexander Calder to younger generations including Jeppe Hein, Žilvinas Kempinas and the German avant-garde group Zero.
Mecanoo’s design organizes the artworks according to twelve themes covering different aspects of perception and phenomenal experiences, such as light, movement, rhythm, structure, vibration, space, radiance, immateriality and rotation. All artworks appeal to various senses and, as a result of interacting with the viewer, can lead to extraordinary perceptions.
Highlights include the dynamic undulating fabric in Hans Haacke’s 1964/65 work ‘Blaues Segel’ and the artificial light spaces in Carlos Cruz-Diez’s 1965 work ‘Chromosaturation’, which transform colour into an almost physical experience. The exhibition allows visitors to experience art with all their senses: they can feel, watch, smell, hear and experience the rhythms, flashes, vibrations, instabilities and force fields.