The Cyclop by Jean Tinguely is a unique artistic discovery nestled in the forest of Milly, south of Paris, made with Niki de Saint-Phalle.
Made with Nikki de Saint-Phalle
A sculptural work made of concrete and metal and partly covered with mirrors, as high as a seven-storey building, sits in the heart of the Milly forest, south of Paris. 22.50 meters high and 350 tons of steel… The Cyclop is a monumental sculptural work directed by Jean Tinguely with the help of his wife Niki de Saint Phalle and their artist friends (Bernhard Luginbühl, Rico Weber, Daniel Spoerri…), it is an immense head without a body, sparkling with mirrors, with a single eye, a mouth from which water trickles down a slide tongue, an ear that weighs a ton… It shelters in its center a surprising universe which is discovered along a labyrinthine route punctuated with works and curiosities that are both serious and full of humour: sound sculptures, a small automatic theatre, machinery with scrap metal gears…
Four artistic movements come together in the Cyclop
Dada, New Realism, Kinetic Art and Art Brut : four artistic movements come together in this work of great richness. Also called “The Head” or “The Monster in the Forest”, Le Cyclop is a unique monument in the history of art. But it is above all the fruit of a collective adventure, woven from bonds of friendship, a utopia realized over many years by “a team of crazy sculptors” gathered around the personality of Jean Tinguely. Without authorization and with their own funds, the artists worked from recycled materials. But regularly vandalized, Jean Tinguely had to entrust his work to the French State in 1987. Completed 25 years after the first works, Le Cyclop was inaugurated and opened to the public in 1994. It is listed in the inventories of the National Contemporary Art Fund , State collection managed by the Center National des Arts Plastiques. As part of the 2022 Season of L’Etincelant Cyclop, which gives pride of place to contemporary creation, discover until November 6, 2022, the exhibition “Just before the breaking point”.
Forêt des Pauvres
91490 Milly-la-Forêt
01 64 98 95 18
