Sometimes, the most captivating works of art ask visitors not to look closer, but to listen more carefully. Tranquility is the focal point of French artist, musician, and composer Céleste Boursier-Mougenot’s new installation of his clinamen series at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City.
The exhibition features three large pools installed on elevated platforms around which visitors can walk and sit, soaking in the gentle sounds of porcelain bowls colliding with one another and filling the space with their sonorous tunes. Each pool is 40 feet in diameter and contains more than 10,000 gallons of water.
Between the three basins, there are 800 white porcelain bowls that have been carefully tuned to the water’s temperature and current, creating an ever-changing live musical composition that fills the Drill Hall with delicate, tinkling sounds. Perpetually in motion, the installation continuously evolves as the currents shift, allowing visitors a unique experience as they are welcomed to sit, contemplate, and immerse themselves in the music.
Boursier-Mougenot’s work has long drawn inspiration from the everyday sounds of life, including buzzing bees, birds, vacuum cleaners, balloons, and, in the case of clinamen, bowls. Boursier-Mougenot first debuted clinamen in 1997. The title comes from the same word used to describe the random, unpredictable swerve of atoms. In 1999 and 2000, the installation was presented by Paula Cooper Gallery using inflatable plastic pools instead of the porcelain bowls used today. More recently, the exhibition has been presented at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris (2025), the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju (2024), SFMOMA in San Francisco (2018), and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne (2013).
In relation to clinamen at the Armory, Boursier-Mougenot says, “clinamen is an installation that is intricately connected to its surroundings, so each iteration gives me a new opportunity to manipulate the work and its experience. The Armory offers not only a new kind of acoustic environment but also the ability to expand the work to its grandest scale yet. The Drill Hall is so immense that it allows visitors to really step into the heart of the sound, themselves becoming part of the installation and others’ experience of it. This work is an invitation to stay together with other people to share a moment of grace and beauty, or to delve into a more deep and intimate reverie.”
Unlike exhibitions that take a stronger hand in guiding viewers toward a particular interpretation, clinamen gently draws visitors in, inviting them to stay awhile and simply listen. As the porcelain bowls drift across the water and compose an ever-changing soundtrack, the installation offers a rare opportunity to slow down, embrace stillness, and share a quiet moment of reflection with those around you.
Clinamen is currently on view through August 2, 2026, at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City.
Tranquility is the focal point of French artist, musician, and composer Céleste Boursier-Mougenot’s new installation of his clinamen series at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City.
The exhibition features three large pools installed on elevated platforms around which visitors can walk and sit, soaking in the gentle sounds of porcelain bowls colliding with one another.
Céleste Boursier-Mougenot’s work has long drawn inspiration from the everyday sounds of life, including buzzing bees, birds, vacuum cleaners, balloons, and, in the case of clinamen, bowls.
The installation offers a rare opportunity to slow down, embrace stillness, and share a quiet moment of reflection with those around you.
Exhibition Information:
Céleste Boursier-Mougenot
Clineman
June 10, 2026–August 2, 2026
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Ave., New York, NY, 10065
Céleste Boursier-Mougenot: Website | Instagram
Park Avenue Armory: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Park Avenue Armory.
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