Tinguely is best known for his motorised ‘meta-matic’ machines, which produced abstract drawings through mechanical processes, raising questions about authorship, automation and the role of chance in art. These contraptions, sometimes deliberately unpredictable or self-destructive, satirised modern society’s obsession with progress and technology. His most famous work, Homage to New York (1960), was a monumental, self-destroying sculpture staged in the garden of the Museum of Modern Art, which spectacularly collapsed in front of an audience.
Throughout his career, Tinguely created a diverse range of kinetic pieces, from small whimsical constructions to monumental public works, including Le Cyclop (1969–1994), a 22-metre-high sculpture in Milly-la-Forêt, France. His art combined humour, absurdity and a sense of performance, often blurring the line between sculpture and theatre.
A central figure in post-war European avant-garde art, Tinguely’s embrace of movement, impermanence and play continues to influence contemporary artists working at the intersection of technology, performance and sculpture.
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Swiss made
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Untitled
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Fontaine VI
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
EOS XII
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Stabilité No. 5
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Décollage orienté
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Sans titre
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Ouverture relative
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Incertitude No. 5
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Scorpion 3
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Stabilé I
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Scooter
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Isidor
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Motor-Cocktail à la roue
NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE (1930-2002) & JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Lampe mit kleiner Nana
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Der Rüssel, 1971
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Ohne Titel, 1982
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Sans titre
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Petite Bascule, 1967
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Honda No. 1, 1963
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Lieber Ernst...
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Ma Fraiseuse, 1963
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Untitled
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
La chasse
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Précision
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
La Brésilienne
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Bascule
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Untitled
Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) et Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Les patineurs- Couple ailé
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Nasobem, 1988
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Untitled
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Kyoto X
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Peak Production, 1963
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Untitled
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Sans titre
NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE (1930-2002) et JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Mini nana qui court
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Maschinenbild Haus Lange
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Untitled
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Rocker III
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Sans titre
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Peak Production
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Zing-Zing + Co
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
WNYR No. 20
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991)
Maschinenbild Haus Lange
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Werk i ''Kyoto''
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Untitled No 4
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Untitled
JEAN TINGUELY (1925-1991)
Meta-Harmonie Frei & Lustig