Liliane Lijn

The atomic age dawned in the late 19^th century, when the discovery of the atom and radioactivity revolutionised science and the world. That new vision of the atom as a symbol of scientific progress, and as a weapon of mass destruction, had a profound influence on art, politics and thinking.

From the first nuclear explosion in the desert of New Mexico in 1945, to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to the nuclear tension of the Cold War, the collective and artistic imaginary surrounding atomic energy and the nuclear threat has moved between fascination with scientific progress and anxiety about its consequences.

With some 250 works, including paintings, drawings, photographs, previously unpublished documents, videos and installations, the exhibition brings together a wide diversity of views of key artists of the 20^th century, such as Hilma af Klint, Pierre Huyghe, Yoko Ono, Salvador Dalí, Enrico Baj, Asger Jorn, Peter Watkins, David Lynch, Vladimir Yankilevsky, Viktor Kossakovsky, Bruce Conner, Raymond Pettibon, Sammy Baloji, Nancy Spero, Joan Rabascall, Marisa González, Jordi Bernadó and Susan Schuppli, among others.

The exhibition also addresses the environmental, social and geopolitical consequences of nuclear energy that are often invisible, from the accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima to uranium mines, nuclear testing, infrastructure and contaminated territories. There is also a space for Spain’s nuclear history: the construction of the first nuclear power plants under Francoism, and present-day debates about the nuclear phase-out.

Today, in a context marked by ecological crisis, the difficult management of radioactive waste and geopolitical tensions, the nuclear issue continues to be relevant. “The Atomic Age” invites us to understand how the atom has modelled the world we live in and reflect on the future of the planet. Because the atomic age is not just a history of the past—it is also our present.

A new adaptation based on the exhibition curated by Julia Garimorth and Maria Stavrinaki, and presented at the Musée d’Art Moderne of Paris / Paris Musées, between October 2024 and February 2025.