About the Exhibit - In-Coherent

This exhibit marks the first for the François Morellet Estate since moving representation from  Lévy Gorvy Gallery to Hauser & Wirth in 2020.

The exhibit focuses on the works Morellet created from 1953 – 2013. 

“In-Coherent’ underscores the full breadth of the artist’s artistic explorations through a large array of mediums.” Hauser & Wirth Gallery (source) 

The “array of mediums” Hauser refers to are sculptures made with neon tubes, paintings of acrylic and oil on cavas, matte adhesive tape put on a wall…and so much more. 

“All my work is about doing as little as possible and making the fewest possible arbitrary decisions.”  - François Morellet (source) 

“The first point of view allows normal art viewers to believe they have discovered the intention, the message, the philosophy of the artist. The discovery of the second point of view, being that of the system, calls into question the first discovery”  - François Morellet (source) 

Overall, the exhibit showcases how François Morellet was a pioneer in geometric abstraction, and you can see the influence in his work in many contemporary artists like Mary Weatherford. 

Video of the Exhibit

To see a walkthrough of the exhibit, skip ahead to 15:51 in the video below.

About the artist - François Morellet

François Morellet was born in 1926 Cholet, France. He started painting at the age of 14 and studied Russian Literature in Paris. His early paintings were more traditional figurative works, but in 1950 he started to create abstract works (like the ones in this exhibit). 

“François Morellet was a French contemporary painter, sculptor, and light artist. His early work prefigured minimal art and conceptual art, and he played a prominent role in the development of geometrical abstract art” - Wikipedia (source) 

“François Morellet (1926 – 2016), a prolific self-taught painter, sculptor, and installation artist, developed a radical approach to geometric abstraction during a career spanning more than six decades.” - Hauser & Wirth Gallery (source) 

Morellet died in 2016 at the age of 90. His estate worked with Lévy Gorvy Gallery until 2020 when they moved to Hauser & Wirth.