Essaim de reflets 1965

Martha Boto made this kinetic sculpture, 'Essaim de reflets,' from metal and plexiglass. The word "Essaim" means swarm, and the piece is a swarm of metal shapes reflecting the gallery space. What strikes me is the way that each little reflective shape is fixed in place, on a vertical axis, allowing each one to spin and flicker. The sculpture is so controlled. The light bounces off each shape in a different way. It is a really compelling combination of industrial materials, like the metal rods, with a very human desire to imitate nature. The reflections themselves are both present and absent. They give the sculpture an ethereal, shimmering quality. There is this sense of captured movement, like a scientific specimen or a living organism held under glass. In this way, Boto's work reminds me of the sculptures of Naum Gabo, who was also interested in the poetry of geometry and the beauty of new materials. Ultimately, this piece is about opening up perception and finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.