Antonio Asis biography
ANTONIO'S ASS
Antonio Asis, born in 1932 in Buenos Aires, was one of the main protagonists of the kinetic movement, an artist who dedicated his life to the exploration of light, color, and movement. During his youth, Antonio Asis attended the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires between 1946 and 1950, where he built a solid foundation in the visual arts. During this period, Asis began to develop a unique sensitivity towards perceptual phenomena, which would later become the distinctive feature of his artistic production.
Having moved to Paris in 1956, Antonio Asis immersed himself in a vibrant and stimulating cultural environment. Here, he forged connections with prominent figures of kinetic art and Op Art, such as Jesús Rafael Soto, Victor Vasarely, and Pol Bury. This group, associated with the Denise René gallery, provided Antonio Asis with fertile ground to experiment and refine his visual language.
The French capital became for him the creative center from which he would deeply explore the themes of interference and visual vibration.
Antonio Asis is remembered primarily for his pioneering work in the field of visual interferences, an area in which he created works such as his famous paintings Interférences concentriques and the sculptures Vibrations. These works explore the possibilities of perceived movement through the lattice and metal grids. Antonio Asis often used monochrome to investigate how variations in tone and the arrangement of elements could create an illusion of dynamism in a static format.
His early experiments with frames showed a systematic approach to the relationship between light and perception, which further developed in his kinetic sculptures. Antonio Asis demonstrated that movement did not necessarily have to be limited to sight, but could involve other senses, such as touch. His installations, in which he integrated tactile objects like spheres on the canvas, represent an innovative contribution to the kinetic movement, offering a unique multisensory experience.
Antonio Asis's commitment to the exploration of movement led him to become a founding member of the Groupe Position in 1971. This collective, composed of Argentine artists residing in Paris, explored a wide range of approaches to kinetic problems, from mechanical and electrical movement to the development of chromatic vibrations. Antonio Asis positioned himself halfway between these two poles, working with sculptural grids that fused geometric precision and artistic sensitivity.
The art of Antonio Asis is characterized by the ability to generate a continuous dialogue between the observer and the artwork. His grids and concentric structures, which seem to move when the viewer changes their point of view, challenge the traditional static nature of painting and sculpture. Antonio Asis made vision and perception the central themes of his work, pursuing a research that transcended the traditional limits of the visual arts.
Antonio Asis was not only an innovator but also a catalyst of ideas. His close collaboration with artists like Julio Le Parc, Luis Tomasello, and Horacio Garcia-Rossi helped form a strong core of Argentine artists engaged in kinetic art and Op Art. At the same time, Antonio Asis engaged in dialogue with Venezuelan artists like Jesús Rafael Soto and Carlos Cruz-Diez, further expanding the scope of the kinetic movement.
The importance of Antonio Asis in the international art scene is also reflected in his participation in prestigious events, such as the Paris Biennale in 1967 and the exhibition at the Casa de Cultura de Grenoble in 1968. These occasions allowed Antonio Asis to present his works to a wider audience, solidifying his reputation as one of the leading figures in Op Art and kinetic art.