Jesús Soto in Conversation with Ariel Jiménez

This bilingual (English-Spanish) book presents an extended dialogue between the Venezuelan-born artist, distinguished for his development of Kinetic art, Jesús Soto, and and art historian Ariel Jiménez.


Venezuela’s primary exponent of Kinetic and Op art, Jesús Soto (1923–2005) is one of the most important Latin American artists of the twentieth century. Here, in conversations with Ariel Jiménez, Soto recounts his childhood in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela; his first encounters with painting; his unending search for “thinking” time and space as dimensions beyond pictorial representation; and the development of his ideas that finally lead him to the creation of his famous Penetrables, large kinetic sculptures through which the viewer walks. This volume is a revised and expanded edition of Conversaciones con Jesús Soto (2001), which served as the inspiration for the Fundación Cisneros’ Conversaciones/ Conversations series.


Conversaciones/Conversations is a series of bilingual books published by The Fundación Cisneros/Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (FC/CPPC) featuring unique in-depth conversations between Latin American artists and leading critics, curators, and art historians. Each illustrated volume presents a comprehensive first-hand account of the artist’s development accompanied by critical reflections by the authors.


Interactive images - animated slideshow galleries incorporate multi-touch and swipe functionality.



Embedded videos which give the reader an opportunity to experience the kinetic nature of Soto's work.



Bilingual - choose from English or Spanish at the touch of a button.