Gyula Kosice: Intergalactic

Pioneering kinetic art meets futuristic vision in landmark exhibition.

The revolutionary works of a visionary 20th-century artist come to life in Gyula Kosice: Intergalactic, running from March 20 through September 7 at Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). This comprehensive exhibition commemorates the centennial of Kosice's birth, showcasing the boundary-pushing creations of the Argentine artist, sculptor, poet and theorist who lived from 1924 to 2016.

Born in Košice, Czechoslovakia, before establishing his career in Buenos Aires, Kosice emerged as a significant figure in the international avant-garde movement following World War II. His influential role in South American art history includes co-founding two important constructive art groups—Arturo (1944) and Madí (1946)—that flourished in the Río de la Plata region between Uruguay and Argentina.

Visitors to the exhibition will experience Kosice's groundbreaking approach to art that challenged conventional relationships between artwork and spectator through interactive sculptures. His experimental use of materials was particularly revolutionary, as he became one of the first artists to incorporate water alongside light and motion—elements also explored by his contemporaries Julio Le Parc and Carlos Cruz-Diez.

Intergalactic concentrates on works created between 1950 and 1980, featuring acrylic sculptures, kinetic reliefs and water installations activated by lights, aerators and motors. The exhibition's centerpiece is The Hydrospatial City (1946–2004), Kosice's most ambitious project—an immersive installation presenting architectural prototypes for human habitation beyond Earth.

This visionary work responds to societal concerns about inequality, environmental degradation and population growth by proposing semi-open, modular living environments suspended high above the ground. These futuristic habitats would be powered by oxygen and hydrogen extracted from atmospheric water vapor, demonstrating Kosice's forward-thinking integration of art, architecture and environmental consciousness.

The exhibition offers visitors a rare opportunity to engage with the imagination and technical innovation of an artist whose ideas continue to resonate with contemporary discussions about sustainable futures and the relationship between humans and their environment.