Jesús Rafael Soto

Jesús Rafael Soto, Spirale (Spiral), 1955/1959

Jesús Rafael Soto’s Spirale consists of a white spiral printed on a sheet of Plexiglas, which is mounted several inches off the surface of a support, onto which is printed a black spiral. As the viewer moves in front of the object, the two spiral patterns visually intersect, creating an optical illusion of movement known as the moiré effect. Soto’s design for this work was inspired in part by the mechanically rotating discs of Marcel Duchamp’s Rotoreliefs. “I wanted to do something similar,” Soto said, “but without a motor.” Activating the work through the beholder’s motion became a core principle of Soto’s practice, which over time included staging increasingly complex and immersive bodily encounters.

Image credit

Jesús Rafael Soto (Venezuelan, 1923–2005), Spirale (Spiral), 1955/1959. Screen printing on Plexiglas and painted plywood, 19 11/16 x 19 11/16 x 9 13/16 in. (50 x 50 x 25 cm). Published by Edition MAT, Paris. Photo courtesy of Kern Collection, Großmaischeid, Germany. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.