(born in Mendoza, Argentina in 1928, lives and works in Paris)
Continuel Mobile Rouge Vert, 1969, signed on a label on the reverse, aluminium, nylon and plastic, 100 x 100 x 8.5 cm

We are grateful to Atelier Le Parc for confirming the authenticity of this work

A living artist (1928), Julio Le Parc approached kinetic and conceptual art from the 1960s with marked experimentalism, making him one of the artists of Op-art, or rather Optical Art.

His works from the 1960s aim to infl uence and interact with the viewer's gaze through the use of mobile plastic elements, artifi cial lighting, moving materials and nylon threads. 

His continuous research into the visual effects of art led him to found GRAV (Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel) in Paris in 1960.

He was recognised by the Venice Biennale and awarded fi rst prize in 1966. Regarding the series of Continuel Mobile works such as the one presented here in green and red, the artist describes them as follows in 1968: "These boxes helped me to deal with the problems that concerned me at that time: the diversity of situations in the same experience, the notions of movement, instability and probability, taking into account external contingencies in the work, the desire to distance myself from the notion of a stable, unique and defi nitive work.

One such experience can be described as follows. On a white background (60 x 60 cm) another white surface of the same size is placed at a distance of 5 cm. This second surface is uniformly cut into 5 x 5 cm squares. While maintaining their position, these squares are suspended  by a very thin nylon thread in front of the backdrop, so that they can assume all kinds of positions, each rotating independently. Thus, their positions are indeterminate, their movement becomes slower or faster depending on the ambient air and the illumination is modifi ed according to the angle of the light [...]'. 
These experiences are visually translated into a situation that is ever different but yet always the same and are developed by Le Parc with the intention of demystifying the traditional, fi gurative concept of art, which is placed at the centre of the debate and problem that tries to question social attitudes.

"We would like, without any claim to conceptual or theoretical accuracy, to reveal, in a simple and clear manner, some aspects of our position and activity. It should be noted that our work excludes any claim to be absolute and defi nitive. Our main concern is to situate ourselves  in contemporary art, bearing in mind that plastic art must maintain a social connotation [...].

The notion of the work of art begins to disappear in us. We simply try to visualise, by clear and objective means, the actual human experience [...].
As far as practical realisation is concerned, an immaterial plane existing between the work (or experience) and the human eye is emphasised. Every work of art is above all a visual presence. We recognise the visual dialogue between being and object. The place we give to the existence of the plastic fact is neither in the preconceived emotional suspicion of being, nor in the technical realisation of the work itself, but in the conjugation of being and object on an equidistant visual plane". 
Julio Le Parc, Elimina la parola “Arte”, 1960

Provenance:
Galerie Denise René, Paris (label on the reverse)
Galleria d’Arte del Cavallino, Venice (label on the reverse)
Galerie Michael, Heidelberg
Bankhaus Carl F. Plump & CO, Bremen
European Private Collection

Exhibited:
Bologna, Julio Le Parc, Galleria de Foscherari, 15 November 1969, in collaboration with Galerie Denise René, Paris