Swiss artist Jean Tinguely, born 100 years ago on May 22, 1925, is celebrated in a centenary retrospective at Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan. Known for his kinetic sculptures—clattering, motorized assemblages of cogs, wheels, and found objects—Tinguely emerged from Dada influences in Basel and Paris to become a leading figure of kinetic art. His work satirizes technological reliance and explores themes of mortality, often incorporating animal skulls and planned explosions. Major retrospectives at the Stedelijk Museum (2016) and Pirelli HangarBicocca (2024) have revived interest in his oeuvre.
Tinguely’s centenary matters because it reframes his playful yet critical machine art for a new generation grappling with automation and environmental decay. His insistence on impermanence and mechanical disorder—captured in his 1959 manifesto dropped over Düsseldorf—challenges contemporary assumptions about precision and progress. The retrospectives and the permanent Museum Tinguely in Basel ensure his legacy endures as a prescient commentary on technology’s double-edged role in society.