julio le parc

born 1928, Mendoza, Argentina

Julio Le Parc is an influential figure in contemporary art, with his creative and visionary approach, he contributed on the development of the modern art of the second half of the 20th century. He is considered a pioneer of kinetic art and light animation. In the 1940s, he moved, together with his whole family to Buenos Aires, where he later studied at the Academy of Fine Arts.

In 1958, Julio Le Parc received a grant from the French Cultural Institution and moved to Paris. Soon after his arrival, he established close friendship with Latin American artists Jesús Rafael Soto and Carlos Cruz-Diez. Furthermore, he also met with Victor Vasarely, George Vantongerloo, François Morellet, Joël Stein, Vera Molnár, F. Sobrin, H. G. Rossi, J.-P. Yvaral, gallery owner Denis René and many other artists.

In 1960, Julio Le Parc became a founding member of the French group GRAV / active between 1960-68 /. This experimental group works with playfulness, variability and direct interaction between the work and the viewer.

In 1966, Le Parc won the Grand Prize in Painting at the 33rd Biennale in Venice. At that time, he was experimenting with light projection, rhythmically changing light vibrations and flashes accompanied by sounds. The resulting impression of these works is very emotional and suggestive.

In the 1970s, he merge in to a research of the colour spectrum and shape mutations, creating series of study gouaches, which in some cases are later realized in series of acrylic paintings on canvas, such as 12 études / coloured targets /, large-format works from the series "Ondes" and "Oval fractional".

In the late 1970s, Julio Le Parc focused himself on a series called "Modulations", which on the surface of the canvas display technical structures and tubular formations, between which passes a ray of light to in some cases suddenly disappear in the dark background of the painting. Inspiration by the universe? Indications of processualism of events in different time dimensions? Via lucis has rules that only Mr. Julio knows…

The 1980s and 1990s are represented by the "Alchemy" series, which are a continuation of experimentation with colour range. Using the spray paint technique (special brush, spray gun) allowed him to work with both the degree of saturation and the exact size of the area covered.

An important part of Le Parc´s artwork are sculptural interventions in architecture, which have been continuously created since the 1970s. Sculptures in public space can be found all over the world, eg in Palma de Majorca, Medellin / Colombia /, Buenos Aires / Argentina /, Coll. Jorge Pérez, Miami, Monterrey, Mexico…

Julio Le Parc currently lives and works in Cachan, ner Paris.