Ralfonso is a powerhouse in kinetic sculpture, with an expansive portfolio of work in permanent collections around the world to prove it. A master at the intersection of engineering and art, Ralfonso goes beyond traditional sculpture by incorporating movement into his pieces – Art in Motion!
Here at the MB&F M.A.D.Gallery Geneva, we are thrilled to showcase a selection of his small-scale very limited series of graceful “Art in Motion” works from January 10th 2018.
Wind, water, light, and the element of Time add an intriguing fourth dimension to Ralfonso's dynamic sculptures. Natural surroundings fuel the fluid movements of his kinetic works creating dynamic and unpredictable interactions at the hands of Mother Nature.
“My work has the added element of time and change-over-time - so it goes beyond just a three-dimensional shape,” Ralfonso points out.
A perfect example of an environmentally interactive art piece is Ralfonso’s monumental 10-meter tall Dance with the Wind, which was commissioned for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. This sculpture undulates with the gentlest breeze or the strongest winds to produce a poetic, yet unpredictable dance. The wind triggers a stack of five balls by pushing a flat, round disk at the top of the vertical composition, which is counterbalanced by a weighted sphere at the base. Mirror-polished stainless steel enhances the viewer’s experience, its reflective qualities revealing its surroundings shimmering in the sun. A smaller collector version standing 100 cm tall and limited to 15 pieces engages spectators with its hypnotic sway.
Ralfonso masters kinetic sculpture with unparalleled imagination and an exceptional ability to set art into motion. These unique talents shine through in KARO, a German word for rhombus, a geometric diamond shape. Closer inspection of this 120 cm tall artwork, limited to just 10 pieces, reveals 16 self-balancing diamond-shaped elements forming an even larger rhombus. The striking, clean lines come to life with the slightest breeze or touch of the hand, moving each rhombus back and forth in an unlimited combination of patterns.
Another artwork in the exhibition is the slowly tilting EXclamation – an exclamation point that looks as though it should fall over and stay down, but doesn't, thanks to a clever weight system bringing it upright. Imagine these striking sculptural constructions or other brilliant works by Ralfonso moving in harmony with the trees in a garden or swaying in the breeze on a rooftop terrace. Standing 80 cm tall, EXclamation is a limited edition of 33 pieces.
