WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Michael Kidner

Michael Kidner

1917–2009

WA-00027884

PaintingConceptual ArtConstructivismAbstract Art

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ6831868 ULAN500028839

MoMA

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

The Responsive Eye

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1965

Field Verification (3 fields)

3 cross-verified · 0 single-source

Birth yearDuplicate Merge· 85%✓
Death yearDuplicate Merge· 85%✓
Primary mediumDuplicate Merge· 85%✓

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/3083
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Michael Kidner was a British abstract artist whose geometric compositions explored color relationships and spatial illusion through mathematically structured grids and nested forms. Working in acrylic and mixed media from the 1960s onward, he developed a practice rooted in systems and optical perception, treating abstraction as an investigation of visual logic rather than emotional expression. His rigorously calculated work engaged with constructivist principles and positioned color progression and formal order as primary subjects.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 27d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Conceptual Art

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Museum of Modern ArtNew York Tate

Canonical record

Artworks (20)

Dissolving Yellow

2001 · 3 works on plywood, acrylic paint

support, each: 2442 x 1224 x 48 mm support, each: 2442 x 1224 x 48 mm support, each: 2442 x 1224 x 48 mm displayed: 7326 x 3670 x 48 mm

Tate

Square and Circle One

1982 · Photo-etching on paper

CONTINUITY BOOK from THE ELASTIC MEMBRANE

1979 · 28 folios with photolithographic reproductions of manuscript and drawings

page 9 15/16 x 8 3/8" (25 x 21.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

The Elastic Membrane

1979 · Illustrated book with one mixed media multiple, three photogravures, three photolithographs, and two spiral notebooks with photolithographic reproductions of manuscript and drawings

Prints and multiples: Various dimensions.

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

NOTE BOOK from THE ELASTIC MEMBRANE

1979 · manuscript and drawings. 36 folios with photolithographic reproductions of

page 8 x 6 13/16" (20.4 x 17.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

CROSS STRETCH from THE ELASTIC MEMBRANE

1979 · Multiple: Wood, clear plastic, tacks, screws, and photolithographs on elastic cloth and ivory, smooth, wove paper

irreg. composition 13 7/16 x 17 1/8 x 15/16" (34.2 x 43.5 x 2.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

NINE STRETCHES from THE ELASTIC MEMBRANE

1979 · Photogravure, printed in black

irreg. composition 12 11/16 x 16 5/8" (32.2 x 42.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

CUT FABRIC from THE ELASTIC MEMBRANE

1979 · Photogravure, printed in black

irreg. plate 13 3/8 x 13 3/16" (34 x 33.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

COAT HANGER from THE ELASTIC MEMBRANE

1979 · Photogravure, printed in black

irreg. plate 16 1/4 x 13 1/8" (41.2 x 33.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

Z STRETCH from THE ELASTIC MEMBRANE

1979 · Photolithograph, printed in color

composition 17 x 13 5/16" (43.2 x 33.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

RELIEF from THE ELASTIC MEMBRANE

1979 · Photolithograph, printed in color

irreg. composition 12 1/16 x 8" (30.7 x 20.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

BOOBY TRAP from THE ELASTIC MEMBRANE

1979 · Photolithograph, printed in color

irreg. composition 16 15/16 x 12 15/16" (43.1 x 33 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Wavy Stripe: Green, Blue, Orange, Red

1966 · Gouache and graphite on paper

support: 400 x 560 mm

Tate

Axion Study

1965 · Oil pastel and graphite on paper

support: 308 x 560 mm

Tate

Red and Olive Wave

1965 · Graphite and oil pastel on paper

support: 290 x 90 mm

Tate

Four Colour Wave

1965 · Graphite and oil pastel on paper

support: 427 x 212 mm

Tate

Phased Brown and Green Wave

1964 · Gouache and graphite on paper

support: 558 x 290 mm

Tate

Yellow Grey Relief

1963 · Commercial paint on board

object: 989 x 1400 x 31 mm

Tate

Rotational Circles

1960 · Oil paint and graphite on paper

support: 350 x 267 mm

Tate

View all 20 artworks →

Artwork sources (2)

20 published of 31 catalogued · 9 with image

MoMA
11 publishedof 22 catalogued
Tate
9 published9 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 9)

9 entries · 1 sources

Dissolving Yellow
2001 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Yellow Grey Relief
1963 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Four Colour Wave
1965 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Phased Brown and Green Wave
1964 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Rotational Circles
1960 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Square and Circle One
1982 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Red and Olive Wave
1965 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Axion Study
1965 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Wavy Stripe: Green, Blue, Orange, Red
1966 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

Movements3

Conceptual Art Constructivism Abstract Art

Collections2

Museum of Modern Art Tate

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Tate

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Group Exhibition The Responsive Eye

New York · 1965