ZILVINAS KEMPINAS
Plunge, Lithuania, 1969. Lives and works New York, USA.
Zilvinas Kempinas is a worldwide reference in kinetic art. Kempinas employs nontraditional materials to create active and dynamic exhibits, most commonly as installations. In many of his works, Kempinas utilizes his signature material, unwound magnetic tape. The artist fully uses its physical properties – its weightlessness, mobility and transparency. Kempinas plays with the graphic qualities of the magnetic tape inherent to its color, texture and reflectiveness. These installations fully inhabit the exhibition area creating a mysterious and poetic universe where the viewer can interact.
By playing with scale and the duality of perception and experimenting with the possibilities of movement, Kempinas’ works addressed the physical and optical experience of the viewer, the passage of time, and the perception of the body and architecture.
In spite of the playful form in which they are presented, his works are filled with symbolism, even by the simple use of forms such as the circle or the allusion to the infinite symbol. The artist was a representant of his country in the 53rd Venice Biennial and winner of the Calder Prize.
His work is part of collections such as: Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Julia Stoschek Collection, Germany; Jumex Collection, Mexico; MUDAM, Musee d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada; The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, USA, among others.