Lyrical Gestures: Schneider & Takis

Musicality unites two prominent 20th-century artists: Gérard Schneider, a pivotal figure in Lyrical Abstraction, and Takis, a pioneer of kinetic art. Exhibited together for the first time, their works brim with movement—whether through gestural brushstrokes or magnetic forces—offering a pervasive rhythm.

 

Schneider’s canvases capture a mood in perpetuity. In the tradition of Kandinsky, his works are inherently musical. A synthesis of sound and vision, Schneider’s expressive paintings were created with spontaneous bodily movements, resulting in lines that take unexpected twists and turns. The post-war period marked a transition to a more liberated style with a calligraphic quality, where brushstrokes became less deliberate, akin to his abstract expressionist contemporaries. Many of his works are titled ‘Opus,’ a nod to the titling system of musical compositions.

 

Takis animated his works differently, merging art and science through metallic instruments governed by gravity and magnetic fields. His interest in ancient Greek theater, music, and culture inspired him to create works that could “perform” like actors or musicians. His Signals series features metallic weights balanced on piano strings, susceptible to movement only through force. Later sculptures evolved to move and create music autonomously, exemplified by the Musicales series.

 

Together, Schneider and Takis elevate art to symphonic heights. Where words fail to capture the intangible essence of their work, music succeeds. The exhibition moves like an orchestra under the baton of these two artists. The vivacity of Schneider’s vibrant paintings, combined with the rubato of Takis’ kinetic sculptures, creates an impressive modernist duet.

 

Gérard Schneider was born in Switzerland in 1896. At 20, he relocated to Paris, studying at the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs and later at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Paris under the painter Fernand Cormon, who taught van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec. During his time in Paris, Schneider frequented musical circles, influencing his early works characterized by movement-based expression. Exposure to artists like Picasso and Kandinsky, who famously departed from reality in their work, further shaped his approach. Just before the war, Schneider entered a new phase of his career, pioneering what is now called Lyrical Abstraction. Alongside artists such as Hans Hartung and Pierre Soulages, lyrical abstractionists introduced unwary, animated modes of communication. This defining characteristic of Schneider’s oeuvre took center stage in his work. The late 1940s saw numerous exhibitions between Europe and the United States, leading to exclusive representation at the Sam Koontz Gallery in New York. This was followed by institutional acquisitions at the MoMA and the Phillips Collection. A landmark retrospective was held in Brussels in 1953 at the Musée d’Art Moderne, showcasing his stylistic evolution in the post-war period. In the 1960s, Schneider’s work gained a wilder, more expressive quality, utilizing brighter colors. The French pavilion at the 1966 Venice Biennale featured a solo exhibition of these "free" works. Today, Schneider’s work resides in prestigious collections worldwide, including the Musée d’Art Moderne, Brussels, MoMA, New York, Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Rome, the Centre Pompidou, Paris, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, and the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts. His work has also been featured at Documenta twice. Schneider passed away in Paris in 1986.

 

Better known by his pseudonym Takis, Panagiotis Vassilakis was born in Athens, Greece, in 1925. His early interest in physics sparked a seven-decade artistic career centered on magnetism and kinetics, integrating art with science. The incorporation of magnets and electric currents elevated his work, making him a leading figure in the kinetic art movement of the 1960s. In his twenties, the self-taught Takis discovered the works of Giacometti and Picasso, sparking his interest in art while concurrently experimenting with scientific concepts. In 1953, he worked in Brancusi’s atelier in Paris and began living between the capital city and London. During this time, he created his first kinetic works, Signals, inspired by radar antennas. The clashing objects in these sculptures, as in his other works like Musicales, create sounds that produce irregular melodies and harmonies. For Takis, art and science were akin to both seeking answers to universal questions. In 1968, he was invited to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a researcher. His experiences across Europe and the United States led to encounters with beat poets like Gregory Corso and Allen Ginsburg, whose works greatly influenced him. In 1969, he co-founded the Art Workers Coalition in New York, advocating for diversity in museums and artists' rights. Takis’ work has been extensively exhibited in prestigious venues worldwide, including the Tate Modern in 2019, Documenta in 1977 and 2017, the Venice Biennale in 1995, and the Paris Biennale in 1985, where he won first prize. Recent exhibitions include the MACBA Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, the Tate Modern, Palais de Tokyo, and the Menil Collection. His work is part of the collections at the Centre Pompidou, MoMA, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Tate, among others.