AMSTELVEEN.- Museum Cobra presents The Cyclops – a playful, energetic exhibition that focuses on movement, collaboration and sensory experience. Seven artists transform the museum's Water Hall into a living system of marbles, installations, and chain reactions. The exhibition is rooted in the spirit of the Cobra movement. Artists such as Karel Appel, Constant, and Lotti van der Gaag used intuition and physicality as a counterweight to rationality and control. For them, playfulness was no mere ornament, but a necessity. The Cyclops shows how that energy still lives on today.

A living system

The starting point for The Cyclops is a recognisable object: the marble. Each artist develops their own installation in which movement, mechanics, or chain reactions play a central role. Together, the works form a dynamic whole in which the marble functions as a mindful eye – a moving faculty that establishes connections between the various parts. The title refers to the mythical cyclops: a one-eyed giant who, in this context, does not destroy but learns by moving. The installations behave as one large body, in which the individual parts work together like muscles, bones, and nerves.

Play as a serious form of knowledge

The Cyclops invites visitors to get moving, both literally and figuratively. Rolling, touching, and bumping into each other creates an experience in which chance and control alternate. In line with the ideals of Cobra, play is used here as a way to learn, feel, and think. It is an exhibition that combines fun with sensory investigation and collaboration.

Seven artists, seven perspectives

Participating artists include Vibeke Mascini, who uses copper wire to generate electricity to propel a metal marble. Zoro Feigl builds a marble track without beginning nor end – a closed system in which marbles orbit around each other like small planets. Theo Botschuijver plays with optical illusion: a giant marble suddenly appears to approach the visitor. Atelier Van Lieshout, Audrey Large, Philip Vermeulen, and Leon de Bruijne also each give their own interpretation of the theme.

The exhibition is curated by guest curator Ellis Kat and will be on display until 18 January 2026 at Museum Cobra, Amstelveen.