Kenneth Snelson (born 1927) is a contemporary sculptor whose works are designed using flexible and rigid components in a mutually supportive arrangement, according to the idea of tensegrity.
As a student of Buckminster Fuller, Snelson claims the concept of tensegrity was stolen by Fuller, who gave the concept its name from the combination of 'tension' and 'structural integrity .' Fuller's geodesic domes are the most commonly known structures which function along the concepts described in tensegrity. Snelson's art demonstrates an evolved mastery of combining pipes and cables in tension, which by "a win-win combination of push and pull" allow the finished structures to be incredibly tall or strong, in spite of their apparent slim material construction.
Snelson was born in Pendleton, Oregon, in 1927. He studied at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Black Mountain College, and with Fernand Léger in Paris. He has had over 25 one man shows in galleries around the world, holds four patents in the U.S. (#3,169,611: Discontinuous Compression Structures, Feb., 1965; #3,276,148: Model for Atomic Forms, October, 1966; #4,099,339: Model for Atomic Forms, July, 1978; and #6,017,220: Magnetic Geometric Building System).
Along with his sculptures, Snelson holds a particular interest in researching the shape of the atom.
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