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Artists›Robert Breer

Robert Breer

Artist

VideoKinetic Art

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Movements

• Kinetic Art

Related Artists

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Influence Graph

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Selected Institutional Exhibitions

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No image

Contemporary Sculpture: Selections from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979

No image

Prints by Sculptors

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1975

No image

Untitled III

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1972

No image

Osaka I

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1970–1971

About

Why this artist matters now

Robert Breer was an American animator and filmmaker who created abstract films and kinetic sculptures using hand-drawn and collage techniques. Beginning in the 1950s, he developed a distinctive approach to experimental animation, constructing frame-by-frame works from cut paper, photographs, and painted elements that prioritized visual rhythm and formal abstraction over narrative. His kinetic sculptures, often motorized and constructed from wood and metal, shared the same commitment to movement and optical sensation that defined his film practice. Breer's work bridged postwar European and American avant-garde traditions, influencing generations of experimental animators.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 25d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Kinetic Art

Medium

Video

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern ArtNew York

Canonical record

Artworks (6)

Untitled, from The New York Collection for Stockholm

1973 · Lithograph on paper

22.9 × 30.5 cm (9 1/16 × 12 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The New York Collection for Stockholm

1973 · Portfolio of seventeen screenprints, nine lithographs, two lithographs with screenprint, one photocopy, and one photograph

composition (see child records): dimensions vary; sheet (orientation varies, each approx.): 9 × 12" (22.9 × 30.5 cm) or 12 × 9" (30.5 × 22.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled from The New York Collection for Stockholm

1973 · Lithograph from a portfolio of seventeen screenprints, nine lithographs, two lithographs with screenprint, one photocopy, and one photograph

composition and sheet: 9 x 12" (22.9 x 30.5cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

Float

1970 · Multiple of plastic with motor

overall (object): 4 × 3 11/16" (10.2 × 9.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Osaka I

1970 · Fiberglass shell, steel frame, battery-driven motor, and rubber-tire wheels

6' 1" (185.3 cm) high x 6' 1 1/8" (185.6 cm) in diameter

Museum of Modern Art

Man and His Dog Out for Air

1957 · 16mm black-and-white film, sound; 3 min.

Art Institute of Chicago

Record

Images

Artsy

Art Institute of Chicago

Related artists

Adjacent in the graph

Record

Movements and affiliations

Kinetic Art

Movement

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Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Group Exhibition Contemporary Sculpture: Selections from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art

New York · 1979

Group Exhibition Prints by Sculptors

New York · 1975

Group Exhibition Untitled III

New York · 1972

Solo Exhibition Osaka I

New York · 1970