In the Spirit of Fluxus

The exhibition In the Spirit of Fluxus explored what has been called “the most radical and experimental art movement of the sixties”: a way of understanding art and life that proved critical to the development of a number of major art forms, including performance, video, Minimalism, and Conceptual Art.

Fluxus consisted of a group of artists, writers, composers, film directors and actors from around the world who created non-conventional, multi-disciplinary and frequently interactive works.

Propelled by George Maciunas, who was the self-appointed “chairman” of Fluxus, the group struggled to break down the barriers between art and its public, revealing the aesthetic nature of daily life. Fluxus artists did not consider themselves part of any movement nor did they advocate a particular style. Instead they shared an alternative approach to creation, culture and life that manifested itself in a broad range of visual, musical, theatrical, video and literary productions.

In the Spirit of Fluxus examined the development of this group project, beginning with an introduction to the artistic context from which it emerged, providing a thorough examination of its peak years of activity (1962-1968), and concluding with a selection of works by artists associated to Fluxus in spirit and sensibility. The exhibition contains approximately one thousand objects (performance relics, books, object multiples, posters, films and reconstructions of Fluxus environments, and includes work by more than forty artists: Eric Andersen, Ay-O, Joseph Beuys, George Brecht, Robert Filliou, Ken Friedman, Geoffrey Hendricks, Dick Higgins, Joe Jones, Milan Knízák, Alison Knowles, Arthur Koepcke, Shigeko Kubota, George Maciunas, Larry Miller, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Benjamin Patterson, Takako Saito, Carolee Schneemann, Paul Sharits, Mieko (Chieko) Shiomi, Daniel Spoerri, Ben Vautier, Wolf Vostell, Yoshi Wada, Robert Watts, Emmett Williams and La Monte Young, and many others, among them two members of ZAJ, Juan Hidalgo and Esther Ferrer.