Tsai Wen-ying works on his installations in his New York studio in the 1980s. Photo provided to China Daily

Today, we are able to use many products such as smartphones that could be considered the result of the integration of art and science.

But in the 1960s, when engineer-turned-artist Tsai Wen-ying (1928-2013) presented his first cybernetic artwork, such interdisciplinary work was still new.

The pioneer's magical sculptures will be on display at a retrospective set to open at London's Tate Modern in May 2016, when the museum completes its new building, an additional south wing to the current gallery.

The exhibition was announced at a forum reflecting on the late artist's lifelong artistic explorations, at Beijing's National Art Museum of China, where Tsai had held his first solo exhibition in his country of birth, in 1997.

The gathering was attended by the artist's admirers in Beijing who had helped organize his debut show.

Tsai's wife, Pei-de Chang, his devoted assistant for decades, was also present at the Beijing event. Now she presides over the Tsai Art and Science Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit organization that supports interdisciplinary individuals and projects.

"For Tsai, his works are an extension of him," Chang told China Daily in an exclusive interview.