Gallery Hyundai is pleased to present a solo exhibition of François Morellet(1926-2016), a key figure in the development of geometrical abstract art. The exhibition presents 23 works whose years of production range from 1969 to 2016 – from the year when the artist began his own artistic career after the dissolution of GRAV (Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel, 1961-1968) to the end of his life. The works presented in the exhibition also display various themes and materials explored by the artist.

From the early stage of his career, François Morellet began immersing himself in the abstract art based on a pictorial language of simple geometric elements such as lines and squares. At the same time, he actively embraced industrial materials that include neon tubes, iron, adhesive tape, negating the notion of an artist as a creative genius. Randomness, accidental choice, wordplay, and audience participation contributed to the establishment of the artist’s unique aesthetics and practice.

As a way of commemorating Morellet’s oeuvre, the exhibition presents the artist’s major works including an enlarged pattern installation of Random distribution of 40.000 squares using the odd and even numbers of a telephone directory, as well as works that employ the mathematical constant π (Pi) which the artist started using since the late 1990s. The exhibition also presents a number of “3D” paintings that the artist created in his last years.

Born in Cholet, France in 1926, François Morellet has been laid to rest on the 10th of May, 2016. As an artist, Morellet has left a significant mark in the history of the 20th century art. In order to honor the French master’s life and spirit, Dia Art Foundation will host a retrospective exhibition of the artist in the coming October. MACBA in Buenos Aires will also host a retrospective exhibition in 2018.