Lygia Clark. Retrospective

Radical, influential and participatory: Lygia Clark is one of the most significant voices of the South American avant-garde. As a central figure of Neoconcretismo, she redefined the concept of art by blurring the boundaries between artwork and viewer. She questioned conventional forms of image and object. Instead, she called for a practice that engages body and senses, one that can be experienced as an open process.

Exhibition view Kunsthaus Zürich, Photo © Franca Candrian

A radical voice of Neoconcretismo

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Lygia Clark is among the pioneering artists of South America. Her works bring the artwork and its audience into direct dialogue. Her walk-through, hands-on installations involve viewers as active participants in their creation. Her stance challenges both the institution of the museum and the idea of an artwork as a finished object, demanding a holistic experience that engages the body and the senses. Her practice reflects both the spirit of change in Brazil and the scars of political oppression of her time – and has lost none of its relevance today.

As a key figure of Neoconcretismo, Lygia Clark searched from the 1960s onward for a new artistic experience. Her development led from the painted image to spatial exploration and finally to abandoning the fixed object in the 1970s. One of her best-known works is the series ‘Caminhando’ (Walking) from 1963, seen here in the cover image. Inspired by the engagement of the Swiss polymath Max Bill with the Möbius strip, Clark devised an instruction in which not the object but the action itself becomes the artwork. 'Caminhando' thus marks a revolutionary break: the focus shifted entirely to a process.

Clark-01 — Exhibition view Kunsthaus Zürich, 2025, Photo © Franca Candrian

Lygia_Clark_20374 — Lygia Clark, Diálogo de Mãos [Dialogue of Hands], 1966, photo: Guy Brett, © Associação Cultural O Mundo de Lygia Clark

Lygia_Clark_AJG-LyC-00868 c — Lygia Clark, Estrutura de Caixas de Fósforos [Matchbox Structure], 1964, Manizeh and Danny Rimer, O Mundo de Lygia, Clark-Associação Cultural, Rio de Janeiro, photo: Michael Brzezinski, Private Collection, London; Courtesy Alison Jacques, © Associação Cultural O Mundo de Lygia Clark

Clark-03 — Exhibition view Kunsthaus Zürich, 2025, Photo © Franca Candrian

Lygia_Clark_20389 — Lygia Clark with Máscara Abismo [Abyssal Mask], 1967, photo: Sérgio Zalis, © Associação Cultural O Mundo de Lygia Clark

Clark-02 — Exhibition view Kunsthaus Zürich, 2025, Photo © Franca Candrian

Lygia_Clark_MS_12 — Lygia Clark, Superfície Modulada no. 7 [Modulated Surface no. 7], 1956, Coleção Marcos Ribeiro Simon, © Associação Cultural O Mundo de Lygia Clark

Lygia_Clark_20878 — Lygia Clark at the I Exposicão de Arte Neoconcreta [1st Neo-Concrete Exhibition] in front of her Unidades [Unities], MAM Rio 1959, photo: Sérgio Zalis, © Associação Cultural O Mundo de Lygia Clark

Lygia_Clark_Fadel Collection_Planos em superfície modulada 4 — Lygia Clark, Planos em Superfície Modulada no. 4 [Planes on Modulated Surfaces no. Nr. 4], 1957, Coleção Hecilda e Sergio Fadel, Rio de Janeiro, photo: Jaime Acioli, © Associação Cultural O Mundo de Lygia Clark

Originals and replicas from around the world

The Kunsthaus Zürich, in cooperation with the Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, is mounting the first Clark exhibition in a German-speaking country, and the most comprehensive worldwide since MoMA in New York in 2014. The exhibition was initiated and conceived by the curators of the Neue Nationalgalerie, Irina Hiebert Grun and Maike Steinkamp. In Zurich it has been curated by Cathérine Hug and brings together around 120 historical original works from renowned public and private collections in Brazil, the USA, and Europe – many of which are being opened up to the public for the first time. In addition, around 50 participatory works have been produced as replicas by the Associação Cultural O Mundo de Lygia Clark, enabling visitors to directly engage with Clark’s process-oriented approach to art. In this way, the exhibition ties back to Clark’s own understanding of art:

« For me, making art is about developing as a person, which is the most important thing of all. Art should not seek to emulate a name or any kind of concept. » — Lygia Clark

Exhibition Podcast

5 Audios

25 Min

1 From Idea to Exhibition

21 Min

2 How to Keep the Artist’s Legacy Alive

30 Min

3 Clark, the Art Avant-Garde of the 1970s and the French Establishment

26 Min

4 The Zurich Concrete Max Bill and the Neo Concretismo Artist Lygia Clark

26 Min

5 Clark’s Concept of the “Organic Line” – A Destabilizing Force within the Canon

1 From Idea to Exhibition

Irina Hiebert Grun, Maike Steinkamp and Cathérine Hug discuss the Berlin–Zurich collaboration behind the major retrospective.

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2 How to Keep the Artist’s Legacy Alive

Alessandra Clark and Cathérine Hug share how Lygia Clark’s participatory legacy continues to live on.

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3 Clark, the Art Avant-Garde of the 1970s and the French Establishment

Yve-Alain Bois recalls his encounter with Lygia Clark, her Paris years and the resistance of the art scene.

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4 The Zurich Concrete Max Bill and the Neo Concretismo Artist Lygia Clark

Annina Schindler discusses Max Bill’s influence on Lygia Clark and the artistic exchange between Brazil and Switzerland.

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5 Clark’s Concept of the “Organic Line” – A Destabilizing Force within the Canon

Elize Mazadiego and Irene V. Small explain how Lygia Clark’s “organic line” expands artistic space.

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An accompanying presentation at the Haus Konstruktiv, curated by Evelyne Bucher, sheds light on the Swiss-Brazilian connection and in particular the influence of the Zurich Concrete Artist Max Bill on the generation of Lygia Clark’s contemporaries.

With this exhibition, Lygia Clark’s revolutionary work becomes visible in all its diversity for the first time in the German-speaking world.

Supported by the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne and The Leir Foundation.

#kunsthauszurich

Programme

Thu 20.11. 18:30-19:30

Guided Tour

Exhibition Catalogue

Published to accompany the exhibition, this richly illustrated catalogue features new essays exploring Lygia Clark’s radical artistic practice and its relevance today. The bilingual volume (German/English) is published by E. A. Seemann Verlag, Leipzig, and available in the Kunsthaus Shop.

CHF 54.–

Exhibition location

The exhibition is on view in the Moser building, 1st floor. See the interactive visitor guide!

To the visitor guide

Group visits

Groups, school classes and external tours are kindly asked to register in advance for organizational reasons.

info@kunsthaus.ch
+41 44 253 84 84

Become a member

Membership single

CHF 135.–

Membership pair

CHF 225.–

Junior membership

CHF 40.–

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Ill.: Lygia Clark, Caminhando [Walking], 1963, Associação Cultural O Mundo de Lygia Clark, 2025, photo: Virna Santolia © Associação Cultural O Mundo de Lygia Clark

A radical voice of Neoconcretismo

Tickets

Annual Pass / Membership

Originals and replicas from around the world

Exhibition Podcast

1 From Idea to Exhibition

2 How to Keep the Artist’s Legacy Alive

3 Clark, the Art Avant-Garde of the 1970s and the French Establishment

4 The Zurich Concrete Max Bill and the Neo Concretismo Artist Lygia Clark

5 Clark’s Concept of the “Organic Line” – A Destabilizing Force within the Canon

#kunsthauszurich

Programme

Lygia Clark

Lygia Clark

Lygia Clark

Exhibition Catalogue

CHF 54.–

Exhibition location

Group visits

Become a member

Membership single

Membership pair

Junior membership

Subscribe to our mailing list