Espace # 8 118/144

Yaacov Agam was born on May 11, 1928, in Rishon LeZion, Palestine (now Israel), to an Orthodox Jewish family. His father, Yehoshua Gibstein, was a rabbi and kabbalist who devoted his life to religious study and writing. This religious upbringing profoundly influenced Agam's artistic philosophy, particularly the Jewish prohibition against creating graven images, which led him toward non-representational art. He began his formal art education at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem in 1946, studying under Mordecai Ardon. In 1949, he moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where he studied at the Kunstgewerbe Schule under Johannes Itten, a prominent Bauhaus teacher and color theorist. He was also influenced by Max Bill and the architectural historian Sigfried Giedion during his time at ETH Zurich University.

Agam moved to Paris in 1951, where he established his permanent residence. He held his first solo exhibition at the Galerie Craven in Paris in 1953, titled "Peintures en Mouvement" (Paintings in Movement), which consisted entirely of kinetic, movable, and transformable paintings. This exhibition is considered the first one-man show in art history exclusively devoted to kinetic art. In 1955, he participated in the landmark "Le Mouvement" exhibition at the Galerie Denise René, alongside other pioneers of kinetic art including Alexander Calder and Jean Tinguely. These early exhibitions established Agam as a founding figure of the kinetic art movement.

Agam's artistic practice centers on the concept of transformation and the fourth dimension of time in visual art. His relief paintings and sculptures feature shifting, merging geometric forms that change based on the viewer's position and movement. He developed the "Agamograph," a lenticular print technique that presents radically different images depending on the viewing angle. His work incorporates the Jewish mystical concept of reality as continuous "becoming" rather than static existence, reflecting his kabbalistic influences. Agam's signature style involves abstract geometric patterns, sculpted lines, and bright colors, all designed to engage viewer participation and eliminate the possibility of a single, fixed perspective.

Throughout his career, Agam has created numerous monumental public works and environmental installations. Notable commissions include the kinetic environment at the Elysée Palace in Paris created for President Georges Pompidou in 1972, the musical fountain at La Défense in Paris (1977), the Fire and Water Fountain in Dizengoff Square, Tel Aviv (1986), and the world's largest menorah at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street in New York City (1977). His "Jacob's Ladder" ceiling installation at the National Convention House in Jerusalem and his Holocaust memorial at the Western Wall in Jerusalem (1987) demonstrate his ability to integrate spiritual and cultural themes into large-scale works.

Agam's career has been marked by significant institutional recognition and exhibitions. He had major retrospectives at the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris (1972), which traveled to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and other institutions, and at the Guggenheim Museum in New York (1980). His work is held in numerous international collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C., the British Museum in London, and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. He has received numerous honors, including the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres (1974), later elevated to Commandeur (1985), an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University (1975), and the Medal of the Council of Europe (1977).

Beyond his artistic practice, Agam has contributed to education and theory. He served as a guest lecturer at Harvard University in 1968, conducting seminars on "Advanced Exploration in Visual Communication." He developed the "Agam Method," a visual education system for young children that uses visual elements as a form of language to enhance creative and intellectual abilities. This method has been implemented in pre-schools and kindergartens in Israel and earned him the Jan Amos Comenius Medal from UNESCO in 1996. In 2018, the Yaacov Agam Museum of Art opened in his hometown of Rishon LeZion, dedicated exclusively to kinetic and optical art. Agam continues to live and work in Paris, maintaining his position as one of the most influential figures in contemporary kinetic and optical art.