Collection Kinetic art

In Gelsenkirchen, the historical development of kinetic art can be experienced in an impressive range of over 80 works of international artists: from the beginnings of Op art and light- and movement-driven kinetic objects, to works that directly incorporate their viewers. Many pieces in the kinetics collection in the Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen encourage viewers to touch or activate them – a way of experiencing art for young and old alike that appeals to all our senses.

In the 1950s, artists like Jesús Rafael Soto and Yaacov Agam were experimenting in their relief objects with the effects of vibration and motion studies. At about the same time, the artists in the ZERO group – Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker – modified the image carrier by adding new materials, thereby generating a complex interplay of light and shadow on the surface of the picture. In the museum collection, visual effects created manually by Werner Bauer and Martin Willing are juxtaposed with numerous mechanised or digitally programmed objects. These exemplify the continuing openness of artists like Peter Vogel or the B1 art group towards industrial developments and technological innovation. The Gelsenkirchen artists Rolf Glasmeier and Günter Tollmann greatly benefited from the dynamic mood of Gelsenkirchen’s art scene in the 1960s and 1970s, setting new tones in kinetic art with play sculptures, moveable sculptures and outdoor artworks.