Liliane Lijn is an American-born, London-based artist celebrated as a pioneer of kinetic art, whose innovative practice merges science, poetry, mythology, and explorations of the feminine, with significant institutional retrospectives, including Arise Alive at Mumok, Vienna, and Tate St Ives.
Born in New York City in 1939 to a family of European Jewish intellectuals, Lijn was shaped by an early sense of displacement and curiosity. Her family's creative background and the experience of growing up in postwar America deeply influenced her outlook. As a teenager, she moved to Switzerland, before relocating to Paris in 1958 to pursue studies in archaeology at the Sorbonne and art history at the École du Louvre. Immersed in the city's vibrant intellectual and artistic milieu, she attended Surrealist gatherings and began experimenting with collage and ink drawing, laying the foundations for her later interdisciplinary approach. Lijn has lived and worked in London since 1966, following formative periods in New York, Paris, and Athens.
Lijn's art is defined by her pioneering use of movement, light, and language, exploring the interface between technology, literature, and the visual arts. She is best known for kinetic sculptures and installations that investigate perception, the dematerialisation of form, and archetypes of femininity.
In the early 1960s, Lijn's residency at a New York plastics factory enabled her to experiment with industrial materials, fire, and acids, resulting in her first kinetic light works. Returning to Paris, she exhibited her Poem Machines (1963), motorised cylinders printed with words that spin at high speed, rendering language into visual vibration and exploring the origins of poetry in sound and movement. These works were inspired by Surrealist automatic writing and the idea of making poetry visible.
From the late 1960s, Lijn developed her iconic Koans—spinning, cone-shaped sculptures named after Zen Buddhist riddles. She positions these as potent symbols of the feminine, subverting traditional associations and exploring the dematerialisation of the body through movement and light. Her practice in the 1970s and 1980s expanded to include multimedia installations, performances, and works such as Woman of War (1986) and The Bride (1988), which reimagine goddess archetypes and challenge patriarchal narratives in art.
Lijn's later works engage with scientific concepts, light, and interactivity, often inviting viewers to participate. Her extensive oeuvre encompasses sculpture, installation, film, sound, and public art, continually pushing the boundaries of contemporary art and technology.
Liliane Lijn has been the subject of both solo exhibitions and group exhibitions at important institutions. Below is a selection of important exhibitions.
Lijn's works are held in major public collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, The British Museum, and the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. Her public sculptures, such as White Koan at the University of Warwick and Solar Beacon in San Francisco, are accessible year-round. Major exhibitions have been held at Tate Modern, Tate St Ives, and mumok, Vienna.
She is best known for her kinetic art, especially her Koans—spinning cone sculptures—and her Poem Machines, which merge language and movement.
Her art explores movement, light, language, science, and representations of the feminine, often drawing on mythology, poetry, and technology.
Yes, Lijn has received several awards, including the Arts Council Award and was shortlisted for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.
Her surname is pronounced 'Lin' (rhyming with 'win').
Lijn's early experiments with plastics and industrial materials in New York were pioneering for women artists in the 1960s. She was also among the first to integrate poetry and kinetic art, and her works often invite direct audience interaction.
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