French painter and Kinetic artist born in Greece. After 1954, he worked in Paris. A self-taught sculptor, Takis produced his first works in sculpted wood and plaster, which were basically abstractions of the human form. After 1958, he took a particular interest in the use of magnetism and electromagnetism to create visual effects and movement in his sculptures. In 1960, he held an exhibition at the Iris Clert Gallery in Paris, L'Impossible: L'Homme dans l'espace. In 1963, he started to introduce sound in his sculptures and, in 1968-69, Takis received a scholarship and became a member of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. The rising sophistication of his sound sculptures during the 70s led to the realisation of several large scale projects, namely a temporary installation at the Pompidou Centre, Trois totems: Espace musical (1981). He took part in documenta 6 in Kassel in 1977 and, in 1988, he received first prize for Sculpture in Paris. In 1993, he had a major retrospective exhibition at the Jeu de Paume Museum in Paris. His kinetic sculptures, combining mechanical movement and the optical illusions of Op Art achieved their highest moment with the Fire Works Sculptures.
