Born Panagiotis Vassilakis in Athens in 1925, Takis is world-renowned for his explorations of the gap between art and science. Since the mid-1950s, he has continually pushed into new aesthetic territories, creating three-dimensional works of art that incorporate invisible energies as a fourth element. Takis, who describes himself as an "instinctive scientist," employs powerful forces to generate the compositions, movements and musical sounds of his static and kinetic works. Electromagnetism has been his abiding fascination and the subject of continual study, including as a visiting researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the late 1960s.

With 25 works, the largest single group outside of Europe, the Menil Collection has had a long relationship with the artist. Takis: The Forth Dimension will be the first-ever museum survey of the artist's career in the United States. It is being organized by Toby Kamps, Menil Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.