Jesús Rafael Soto

Sculptor

Birthday June 5, 1923

Birth Sign Gemini

Birthplace Venezuela

DEATH DATE Jan 14, 2005 (81)

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About

Remembered for his work in the kinetic art and optical art genres, Soto is perhaps most famous for his Penetrables sculpture series. His work appears in permanent collections at New York's Guggenheim Museum and Museum of Modern Art and at London's Tate Gallery.

Before Fame

A talented artist from a young age, he painted numerous movie posters during his childhood and teenage years. He went on to train at Caracas, Venezuela's Escuela de Artes Plasticas y Artes Aplicadas (School of Fine and Applied Arts).

Trivia

In the early 1970s, a museum dedicated to his artwork was established in his native Venezuela.

Family Life

Born and raised in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, he later lived and worked in Paris, France.

Associated With

During the 1950s, he was part of an artistic circle that included the Israeli-born kinetic and optical sculptor Yaacov Agam.