
ELIAS CRESPIN (b. 1965, Venezuela / Paris)
Elias Crespin is interested in the movement of matter and the perception of movement. His installations consist of arrangements of metal or other elements formed into geometric shapes which are suspended in midair by nearly invisible nylon threads. He uses intuition to choose among different forms, materials, and textures. Then, through thoughtfully designed computer programming, Crespin adds a succession of gentle movements and morphs - his brushstrokes - making the elements to continually shift and mutate in a cyclic geometrical choreography, a dance that brings us to the contemplation of form in space and time.
Crespin grew up in Caracas, where he was originally trained as a computer engineer. His parents are both mathematicians, and his grandparents were artists; his work perfectly integrates these two personal universes of his: science and art. It was only later in his career, in 2002, after having worked for twenty years in software programming, that he started developing his first piece, finished after two years of research.
Crespin's works are represented in several institutions and museums, the most recent, in 2020, being that of the collections of the Louvre Museum and the Maison de l’Amérique Latine in Paris. His works are also in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Houston, Texas, USA; Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection (CIFO), Miami, FL, USA; El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY, USA; the Latin American Museum of Buenos Aires (MALBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Das Kleine Museum, Weissenstadt, Germany.
Since 2004, his pieces have been exhibited in many international art institutions and venues such as the Astana International Exhibition 2017, the Cuenca Bienal 2016, the Busan Biennale in Korea 2014, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Maison de l’Amérique Latine, the Center of Polish Sculpture in Oronsko, the Grand Palais in Paris, the Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton in Paris, and the Boghossian Foundation in Brussels.
He has been living and working in Paris since 2008.
2022
Cinétique !, Fondation Datris - Espace Monte-Cristo, Paris, France
Art et Programmation, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Échos - Révolution Xenakis, Musée de la Musique, Philharmonie de Paris, Paris, France
Lumière Espace Temps, La Grenier à Sel, Avignon, France
2021
Elias Crespin: And Yet It Moves!, Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino, Houston, TX, USA
Structure du silence, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Dynamique du Bleu, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Retour à la ligne, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Sculpture en Fête!, Fondation Villa Datris, L’isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France
2020
Elias Crespin, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Immaterial / Re-material: A brief history of computing art, UCCA, Beijing, China
Exploring, Wuling Art Space, Beijing, China
Hard Edge, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Espace et tension, une sélection d'artistes contemporains, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
2019
Shadows, Galerie Italienne, Paris, France
Negative Space, ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany
Post Shadows, Galerie Italienne, Paris, France
Immatérialité, Topographie de l’Art, Paris, France
Ondes, Galerie par Graf Notaires, Paris, France
Kinetic masters and their legacy, Cecilia de Torres Ltd., New York, NY, USA
2018
Carré Latin Festival 2018, Palais Royal, Paris, France
Formes, espace-temps, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Forces et mouvement, Galerie François Léage, Paris, France
Artists & Robots, Grand Palais, Paris, France
De Nature en Sculpture, Fondation Datris - Espace Monte-Cristo, Paris France
Les amis de Nicolas Schöffer, La Ville A des Arts, Paris, France
2017
Artists & Robots, Astana Contemporary Art Center, Astana, Kazakhstan
Slow Motion, Maison de l’Amérique Latine, Paris, France
The Urge to create Visions...1929-2017, Center of Polish Sculpture, Orońsko, Poland
De Nature en Sculpture, Fondation Villa Datris, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France
Geometría en Movimiento, Galeria RGR+ART, Mexico City, Mexico
Expanding the Line, Cecilia de Torres Ltd., New York, NY, USA
2016
Impermanencia, XIII Bienal de Cuenca, Ecuador
Dialogue. Ding Yi - Elias Crespin, Hadrien de Montferrand Gallery, Beijing, China
Transparence, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Visión constructiva, Espacio Monitor, Caracas, Venezuela
Everybody is crazy, but me, Maison particulière, Brussels, Belgium
Cercle et carré, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
2015
Vers une architecture de lumière, Chartreuse de Villeneuve lès Avignon, France
Geometrische Choreographien, Das Kleine Museum, Weissenstadt, Germany
Cinétique numérique aujourd’hui, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Mapping Festival, Geneva, Suisse
L’art et le numérique en résonance 2/3: Ré-émergence, Maison populaire, Montreuil, France
Noir et blanc, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
2014
Inhabiting the world, Busan Biennale, Korea
Elias Crespin, Mobiles, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
From thread and air, Designer's’ Days 2014 in collaboration with Tai Ping, Hôtel de Livry, Paris, France
Temps suspendu, Galerie de la Marine, Nice, France
Homage to Denise René. Past, present and future of a vision, Espace-Expression, Miami, FL, USA
Drawing in Space, Galleria Monica De Cardenas, Zuoz, Switzerland
Horizon nécessaire, Musée Passager, Île-de-France
Structures de l’invisible, Galerija Klovicevi dvori, Zagreb, Croatia / Fondation Vasarely, Aix-en-Provence, France
2013
Em movimento, Galeria Raquel Arnaud, São Paulo, Brazil
Cinetik!, Fondation Stämpfli, Sitges, Spain
Turbulences II, Villa Empain - Fondation Boghossian, Brussels, Belgium
Intersecting Modernities: Latin American Art from the Brillembourg Capriles Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Houston, TX, USA
Dynamo, A century of light and movement in art, 1913 - 2013, Grand Palais, Paris, France
Art cinétique, art numérique, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Inner Journeys, La Maison Particulière, Brussels, Belgium
Des gestes de la pensée, La Verrière, Fondation Hermès, Brussels, Belgium
2012
Diálogos Contemporáneos desde la Colección, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Caracas, Venezuela
Elias Crespin, Musée en Herbe, Paris, France
Parallels, Cecilia de Torres Ltd., New York, NY, USA
Hommage à Denise René, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Constructed Dialogues: Concrete, Geometric, and Kinetic Art from the Latin American Art Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Houston, TX, USA
Turbulences, Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, Paris, France
2011
Cosmopolitan Routes, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Houston, TX, USA
Visionary Collection Vol. 14. Elias Crespin Electrokinetics, Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland
Once Tipos del 11, Fundación Sala Mendoza, Caracas, Venezuela
2010
Hiperficies, Ars Longa Gallery, Paris, France
2009
North Looks South, Building the Latin American Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Houston, TX, USA
Writings, Cecilia de Torres Ltd., New York, NY, USA
2006
Life Forms, Kinetica Museum, London, UK
Electrocinéticas, Canal Centro de Producción Cultural, Caracas, Venezuela
2005
63 Salón Michelena, Ateneo de Valencia, Valencia, Venezuela
II Mega Exposición Homenaje à Jesús Soto, Galeria de Arte Nacional, Caracas, Venezuela; Museo del Estado Miranda, Los Teques, Venezuela
Ingravidez, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela; Museo Jacobo Borges, Caracas, Venezuela
2004
Ingravidez, Ateneo de Cabudare, Cabudare, Venezuela
Mutaciones en el espacio, Museo del Estado Miranda, Los Teques, Venezuela
Collection Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, Miami, FL, USA
Das Kleine Museum, Weissenstadt, Germany
El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY, USA
Fundación de Museos Nacionales, Ateneo de Valencia, Venezuela
Maison de l’Amérique Latine, Paris, France
Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
Museo de Arte Latinoamericano, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Houston, TX, USA