Portraits in Black and Silver

Portraits in Black and Silver is an interactive kinetic artwork that uses BREAKFAST's custom-engineered Flip-Disc medium. This computer-controlled installation invites you to become a part of its history. As you engage with the piece, it will record a brief clip of your interaction and play it back at a later time, cycling through all of the portraits captured.

Flip-Discs are small dime-size circles that can rotate 60 times per second using electromagnets, creating abstract images of black and silver portraits. The artwork challenges your perception of what art can be and pushes the boundaries of traditional mediums.

Andrew Zolty, the founder of BREAKFAST and a kinetic artist residing in Brooklyn, has devoted the past two decades to exploring the intricate nexus between art, design, and technology. In 2009, he established BREAKFAST, conceiving a studio that would challenge the traditional confines of art through the creation of computer-controlled kinetic artworks. These pieces are renowned for their ability to narrate stories and engage with real-time web data, positioning Zolty and BREAKFAST at the vanguard of the kinetic art movement. Their work has been celebrated in esteemed venues such as the 2024 Venice Biennale and Christie's auction block, attesting to their impact on the contemporary art scene.

BREAKFAST has emerged as a beacon of innovation, seamlessly blending software, hardware, design, and art to produce interactive experiences that transcend conventional artistic expression. The studio’s development of Brixels, a groundbreaking medium, epitomizes their commitment to integrating technological advancement with artistic creativity. This, alongside monumental works like "Oceans" in Las Vegas and "The Pearl"—recognized as the pinnacle of technical complexity in kinetic art—highlights BREAKFAST's pivotal role in redefining the art landscape.

BREAKFAST has created more than 250 kinetic sculptures that now grace some of the most prestigious collections around the globe, including those at Harvard University, Rockefeller Center, and Tiffany & Co.