Israeli artist, Yaacov Agam is a pioneer of kinetic art, and is also one of the most celebrated Israeli artists today. His work, Salon Agam, commissioned for Elysée Palace by former France President of the Republic Georges Pompidou, has remained a permanent installation in the National Museum of Modern Art at the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Furthermore, the public artworks Agam has created for Taiwan has become renowned landmarks in Taipei and Kaohsiung. For six decades, his artworks are seen around the world in art museums and public spaces. As a museum dedicated to Agam will soon open in Israel, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts is extremely honored to present Yaacov Agam solo exhibition in Taiwan for the first time. This exhibition is also one of the larger scale exhibitions of his art presented in the recent years. Agam was born in 1928 to an orthodox Jewish family, and his faith has always inspired him creatively. He hopes that through plastic art to express the teaching about the “reality” in the traditional Jewish belief. His art incorporates the elements of movements and time, and invites the viewers to take an active part in the process of seeing art. Through the experience of constant visual motions and changes, Agam art reveals a universal view of impermanence and constant change. His studies on colors have also come to shape his highly unique aesthetic style. With vivid colors that represent musical tones of different instruments, the visual images created by Agam are harmonious and fascinating like symphonic compositions. Moreover, Agam has been experimenting with new and diverse media since the 50’s, and has created works of cross-disciplinary practices, such as painting, sculpture, spatial installation, theater, architecture, writing, and education, as his artistic core concept is conveyed through the uses of different media and expressive approaches. This exhibition intends to present the essence from Yaacov Agam prolific artistic career, and includes around 50 artworks ranging from his early works from 1965 to his recent creations made in 2013. Amongst these artworks are Agam best known polymorphic works and Agamographs, which present different visual effects through movements. Furthermore, also included in the exhibition are his kinetic sculptures, composed by geometric metallic shapes and could be moved to create different looks and forms. His sculptural relief series composed of mirrors reflecting the intangible and the tangible and computer animation piece Visual Music is also part of the extraordinary collection of works included in this exhibition. And for the first time, Agam iconic earlier transformable paintings and tactile works are integrated with latest technology and touch screen monitor to transform the works into digital interactive art. After his 1953 premier solo kinetic art exhibition in Paris, Agam has established an irreplaceable position in the international art world. Sixty years later, his works have arrived to National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, for the viewers in Taiwan to experience personally this art master’s dynamic creative vitality and passion, as he takes us on a journey surpassing our preconception for seeing and understanding art.
The realization of this exhibition is made possible because of 85-year-old Agam’s personal dedication and relentless efforts, and also tremendous thanks to Ms. Simona Halperin, the Representative at Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, for her help in facilitating the actualization of this exhibition. We also have to thank artist Ms. Mei-tsen CHEN who lives in Paris for her assistance and liaison efforts, and Ms. Yu-Ling WANG, General Manager of Blue Dragon Art Company, for her help with the catalogue of this exhibition. Finally, the great support from various organizations in Taiwan and overseas for loaning their artworks for this exhibition is also another important key in making this exhibition remarkable, and our immense gratitude goes out to all that have helped to make this exhibition come true.
