Liliane Lijn has been working at the interface of visual art, literature, and science for more than six decades and has created an extensive oeuvre that includes sculptures, installations, collages, paintings, videos, and performances. Her multimedia practice has its origins in the kinetic art of the late 1950s as well as in her exploration of Surrealist ideas, ancient mythology, and eastern philosophy.

Even her earliest works reveal an interest in unconventional artistic materials—an interest that continues to this day. In 1961, Lijn made first works from Perspex, in which she experiments with reflection, movement, and light. She also broke new ground in the field of visual art in the 1980s. Focusing her attention on the human form, she began reflecting on the impact of technology on the body.

She created futuristic female “deities,” part machine, part animal, and part plant, using feather dusters, synthetic fibers, optical prisms, and lasers. In these iconic sculptures, which mark the epicenter of this exhibition, Lijn relates the cosmic to the personal, technology to mythology, and the profane to high-tech, giving female archetypes a contemporary form.

Curated by Manuela Ammer

Liliane Lijn. Arise Alive was developed in cooperation with Haus der Kunst in Munich.