Israeli artist Yaacov Agam, considered to be the father of the Kinetic Movement in modern art, died on Sunday at the age of 98, the Agam Museum announced.
Agam, who was awarded the Israel Prize for Visual Arts in April, was known for works that incorporated movement, light, color and viewer interaction.
A public memorial ceremony will be held on Monday at the Agam Museum in the central city of Rishon Letzion from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. local time, followed by the funeral, which is scheduled to depart from the plaza of the military cemetery in Rehovot.
“The art world in Israel and around the globe is bidding farewell to one of its great innovators,” the Agam Museum said in a statement. “Yaacov Agam dedicated his life to groundbreaking artistic creation that transformed modern art and influenced generations of artists worldwide.”
Born in Rishon Letzion in 1928, Agam studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem before continuing his education in Zürich, Switzerland. Over a career spanning more than seven decades, he created works exhibited at major institutions worldwide, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Among his most notable works are the Fire and Water Fountain in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square, the kinetic fountain in Esplanade de La Défense in Paris and a giant Chanukah menorah displayed annually on New York’s Fifth Avenue.
