Opening reception: ‘Soto. Vibrations 1950 – 1960’

Join us for the opening reception of work by Soto, art history’s leading kinetic artist. Soto explored the dematerialization, or ‘disintegration’ of the art object, breaking new ground while anticipating conceptual strategies to come. Hauser & Wirth is pleased to present the first exhibition to focus on the critical first decade of the artist’s life in Paris, from 1950 – 1960. During this period, Soto exhibited at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles alongside established European artists like Josef Albers and Fernand Léger as well as members of Grupo Madí, an artist collective founded in Buenos Aires in 1946. A believer in art historical evolution, Soto built upon the work of the masters that preceded him in order to challenge figurative tradition via abstraction and repetition. Imbued with vibration and movement, these early works constitute a breakthrough in Soto’s output, laying crucial groundwork for his later kinetic works and the uniquely fluid style that shaped his artistic vocabulary.