Versailles Honors François Morellet as Centenary Retrospective Opens
From June 30, 2026, to November 1, 2026, the Château de Versailles will present a tribute exhibition celebrating the centenary of François Morellet. Born on April 30, 1926, in Cholet, Morellet (1926–2016) was a significant figure in geometric abstraction. While managing his family's toy company from 1948 to 1975, he also pursued painting. After being inspired by Mondrian, he moved away from figurative art around 1950 and embraced chance in his work starting in 1958. In 1960, he helped establish the Groupe de recherche d'art visuel (GRAV), which lasted until 1968. His notable pieces include Répartition aléatoire de 40 000 carrés (1960), Sphère-trames (1962), and L'Avalanche (2006). He passed away in Cholet on May 11, 2016.
Key facts
- The Château de Versailles is hosting a François Morellet tribute exhibition from June 30, 2026 to November 1, 2026, celebrating the centenary of his birth.
- François Morellet was born on April 30, 1926 in Cholet and died on May 11, 2016.
- He co-founded the Groupe de recherche d'art visuel (GRAV) in 1960 with Horacio Garcia Rossi, Julio Le Parc, Francisco Sobrino, Joël Stein, and Yvaral; the group disbanded in 1968.
- In 2010, the Louvre commissioned Morellet to create stained-glass windows for the Escalier Lefuel.
- His 1960 work Répartition aléatoire de 40 000 carrés used a telephone directory to assign blue or red squares based on even or odd numbers.
- Sphère-trames (1962) was one of his first spatial works and brought him international recognition.
- L'Avalanche (2006) consists of 36 blue neon tubes suspended from the ceiling, with gravity determining their positions.
- Retrospectives of his work were held at the Centre Pompidou in 1986 and 2011, and at the Jeu de Paume in 2000.
Entities
Artists
- François Morellet
- Mondrian
- Max Bill
- Dan Flavin
- Horacio Garcia Rossi
- Julio Le Parc
- Francisco Sobrino
- Joël Stein
- Yvaral
- Piet Mondrian
- Francis Picabia
- Hubert Robert
- Erik Orsenna
Institutions
- Château de Versailles
- Centre Pompidou-Metz
- Centre Pompidou
- Jeu de Paume
- Louvre
- Groupe de recherche d'art visuel (GRAV)
- École des langues orientales
- MoMA
- Musée de Grenoble
- Fondation Louis Vuitton
- Beaux Arts
- Estate Morellet
- Carnets de Versailles
Locations
- Versailles
- France
- Cholet
- Metz
- Paris
- Nuremberg
- Germany
- Brazil
- New York
- United States
- Grenoble
- Louvre
- Aile Richelieu
- Escalier Lefuel
- Chapelle Royale
- Grand Appartement du Roi
- Bosquet des Bains d'Apollon