Francisco Sobrino
Bio
(Spain, 1932 - France, May 11, 2014). He studied sculpture and drawing at the School of Arts and Crafts in Spain. In 1949 he traveled to Argentina to continue his studies at the National School of Fine Arts. In 1960, together with Julio Le Parc and other French and Argentine artists, he founded the Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV). In 1965, as part of GRAV, he participated in the exhibition "The Responsive Eye" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1968 the group disbanded, as its members exhibited frequently in major exhibitions and galleries.
His work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at the Tate Gallery, the Museum of Tel Aviv, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Paris and the Museum of Open Air Sculpture in Madrid.
Statement
Francisco Sobrino, together with artists of the GRAV group, approached kinetic art through visual phenomena, betting on optical effects. Effects such as movement, which are usually unreal and arise from the reaction to the optical stimuli that occur in the eye of the spectator, making two-dimensional compositions three-dimensional.
In a later stage, he begins to incorporate electric light and mechanical movement to his works, as a consequence of both, the time factor appears, where the active or passive participation of the spectator becomes very important, bringing the work closer to the public, making them participants in it.
Additional information
Firmado en la base de la escultura