From 12 September to 7 November, a solo exhibition by Miguel Chevalier transforms the Atrium Magnetic at Beaugrenelle Paris with two dynamic light and sculpture works. 

Curated by Jérôme Neutres and co-ordinated by Burö Constance Breton, Orbites 2019 features two works by Chevalier. The first, also titled Orbites 2019, is a large scale suspended dynamic sculpture which fills the cavernous space beneath the glass roof of the atrium with nine cascading rings of LEDs. Fourteen metres high, the work was made specially for the space and weaves in elements of the atrium’s architecture, which frequently features ellipses. The LED lights are programmed to generate patterns in real time, resulting in a constantly changing, complex lightscape, a fluid and otherworldly form above visitors’ heads. The piece is a celebration of movement and dynamic artworks, and is a nod to the work of artists such as Calder and Duchamp who introduced motion into contemporary art. The waves of light, and fluctuating volume of the structure, and the presence of ellipses evokes the formation, specialisation and diversion of life and energy at different scales. Technical production for Orbites 2019 was by Voxels Productions / LedPXL with software by Claude Micheli. 

The second work on display is Sociatability, an interactive digital installation which can be seen on level -1 of the atrium. A table takes on a fluid identity where the virtual meets the material. Patterns of pixels, curves and networks transform the table’s surfaces apparently at random. Visitors’ movements disrupt these patterns, resulting in a piece co-composed by visitors, the presence of the table and digital animations. 

The patterns on the table call into question the point at which order becomes chaos. Like Orbites 2019, the work is a celebration of life at various scales. A humble wooden table top becomes a thriving virtual universe shaped in part, but not in entirety, by human hands. Sociatability is a homage to the Op Art and Kinetic Art movements. 

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Orbites 2019 and Sociatability are at Beaugrenelle Paris, Atrium Magnetic, 12 rue Linois, 75015 Paris until 7 November 2019.