In the early 1960s, Liliane Lijn’s kinetic sculptures placed her at the forefront of artists exploring new ways of using technology to “see the world in terms of light and energy”.
Liliane Lijn. Photograph: Oliver Cowling
Six decades on, her work feels as fresh and vibrant as ever, assembled into a magnificent exhibition at Tate St Ives. Over Lijn’s six-decade career, her work has continued to blaze a trail, and as visitors will see, it continues to defy categorisation.
Fascinated by the idea of visualising the invisible, she draws from Surrealist ideas, ancient mythologies, and feminist, scientific, and linguistic thought.
Photographs: Oliver Cowling. Courtesy of the artist and Sylvia Kouvali, London/Piraeus
Equally important to her experimentation are the materials she uses — such as plastics, prisms, even feather dusters and copper wire.
Arise Alive surveys Lijn’s career from the late 1950s to today, spanning installation, sculpture, painting, and moving image, and including her ongoing exploration and creation of new feminine forms.
It really is a very compelling and wide ranging show, highly recommended! It runs until 2nd November.
Tate St Ives | Porthmeor Beach, St Ives TR26 1TG | tate.org.uk/visit/tate-st-ives
