Self-taught French artist Francois Morellet was a man ahead of his time. Because he was quietly working away in his hometown, his abstract paintings, prints, sculptures and installations didn't garner much attention until later in his life. But once they did, Morellet's use of geometry, neon lighting and kinetic potential was on trend with the day’s contemporary art sensibilities and his work would be associated with Conceptualism as well as Op art, which saw artists producing intense visual experiences by drawing on and evolving methods developed by movements such as Abstract Expressionism and Impressionism.
Morellet was born in Cholet, France, which he called home for his entire life. While he left briefly to study literature in Paris, he returned to head his family's toy factory. Running a successful business gave Morellet the time and opportunity to focus on his art.
He began creating figurative paintings in the 1940s but pivoted to abstraction in the 1950s. His inspiration included the work of architect and designer Max Bill, which he encountered on a trip to Brazil, and the decorative Islamic art he saw in Alhambra, Spain.
In the early 1960s, Morellet became a founding member of the collaborative artists collective Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel (GRAV). The experimental group created dynamic art that required the viewer's active engagement. In 1964, GRAV exhibited at Documenta in Kassel, Germany, where Morellet went on to appear twice as a solo artist.
Morellet had his first showing to American audiences in 1965 at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, followed by an exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 1970. He exhibited around the world for the rest of his career, always returning to Cholet.
In 1991, as part of a collection for Tecno curated by Valeria Borsani in part to pay tribute to her father, celebrated iconic designer and Tecno founder Osvaldo Borsani, Morellet collaborated with his eldest son, Frédéric, to create the brand’s Détabilisation tables. These sculptural minimalist furnishings are made of glass, painted cast aluminum and satin-finished stainless steel and look as though they’re going to collapse at any moment.
A prolific artist throughout his life, Morellet celebrated his 90th birthday on April 30, 2016, by launching a string of shows in London and Brazil. While planning those exhibitions, he told Wallpaper magazine: "I often said that in the past, I considered that my work was widely underestimated and that today it is probably overestimated."
Morellet passed away in May of that year, doing what he loved. Today, his work is held in the collections at the Centre Pompidou, the Museum of Modern Art, the Seoul Museum of Art, the Kunsthaus Zurich and many more prestigious institutions.
On 1stDibs, find Francois Morellet prints, paintings, mixed media and more.
SPHERE-TRAME (SCULPTURE)
By Francois Morellet
Located in Aventura, FL
Sphère-trame, 1962. Welded steel rods, stainless steel. 13.75 x 13.75 x 13.75 inches. This work is from an edition of 100 (the edition was not fully executed). Artwork is in excellen...
Steel
Triangular Corner
By Roger Phillips
Located in New York, NY
Central to Phillips's artistic ethos is the pursuit of simplicity and purity, a quest manifest in his meticulous engineering and unwavering dedication to craftsmanship. His sculpture...
Steel
Art in motion n°2
By Gilbert Pauli
Located in Geneva, CH
Born in 1944 in the canton of Fribourg, Gilbert Pauli currently lives in Geneva, where he devotes himself to painting and sculpture, a passion he developed from his childhood. His fa...
Concrete, Steel
$11,500
H 45.5 in W 32 in D 20 in
"Viewer" Bronze Sculpture 41.5" x 32 "x 20" inch Ed. 1/1 by Sergii Shaulis
By Sergii Shaulis
Located in Culver City, CA
"Viewer" Bronze Sculpture 41.5" x 32 "x 20" inch Ed. 1/1 by Sergii Shaulis 2020 From the Fateful Flowers series Approximate weight 75 lbs ABOUT ARTIST Born on 27 May 1985 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. From 2005 to 2011 studied at the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts, at the Faculty of "Fine Arts" specialty "Easel and monumental sculpture." Now studying postgraduate at Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts. Works are in private collections in Ukraine, Israel, Germany, USA, Australia, Finland, Holland, Spain, Belgium, England. Education 2002‑2005 Faculty of Engineering and Physics (NTU KhPI) 2005‑2011 Easel and monumental sculpture (KSADA) 2012-2016 postgraduate education (KSADA) Exhibitions 2007-15 City exhibition HONSKHU. Kharkiv. 2007-14 Ukrainian Exhibition KONSKHU. Kyiv. 2008-11 "The maestro and his students", KSADA. Kharkiv (Audience Award 2009) 2008 11 International Triennial of sculpture. Kyiv . 2009 “Male portrait”, gallery KSADA. Kharkiv . 2009 "You get SMS ", Kharkiv ( Grand Prix "The best sculpture...
Bronze, Steel
Art in motion n°1
By Gilbert Pauli
Located in Geneva, CH
Born in 1944 in the canton of Fribourg, Gilbert Pauli currently lives in Geneva, where he devotes himself to painting and sculpture, a passion he developed from his childhood. His fa...
Concrete, Steel
$8,514
H 78.75 in W 25.6 in D 17.72 in
Sculpture "Kootook" Recycled Natural Wood Sand Cast Aluminium Garden Ornament
By David Marshall
Located in Benahavis, ES
The modern Wood Sculpture " Kootook ” is a unique piece made from a burnout mold by David Marshall in 2021, sand cast in aluminium, mounted on raw wood, in our foundry, handcrafted b...
Metal, Steel
ANGEL
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Creating a sculpture from sleeves, I decided to draw an analogy with the Guardian Angel, who in these difficult times for Ukrainians is embodied in the form of a weapon with which br...
Enamel, Steel
$18,500
H 27.5 in W 31 in D 7 in
John Van Alstine - Stormwarning IV, Sculpture 2014
By John Van Alstine
Located in Stamford, CT
Medium: Slate, Pigmented and Sealed Steel Stone and metal, usually granite or slate and found object steel are central in my sculpture. The interaction of these materials is a major...
Slate, Steel, Cut Steel
$7,500
H 17.38 in W 16 in D 5.25 in
"Roland, " George Sugarman, Abstract Steel Sculpture
By George Sugarman
Located in New York, NY
George Sugarman (1912 - 1999) Roland, 1970 Patinated steel 17 3/8 x 16 x 5 1/4 inches Incised with the artist's signature and numbered "15/17" on the underside Manufactured by Lippin...
Steel
Two Arcs of 236.5° Each
By Bernar Venet
Located in London, GB
A striking example of Bernar Venet’s iconic Arc series, Two Arcs of 236.5° Each (1988) embodies the artist’s rigorous exploration of mathematical form and controlled randomness. Exec...
Steel
John Van Alstine - Fleche VI, Sculpture 2014
By John Van Alstine
Located in Stamford, CT
Riverstone, pigmented and sealed steel Stone and metal, usually granite or slate and found object steel are central in my sculpture. The interaction of these materials is a major fo...
Stone, Steel, Cut Steel, Stainless Steel
Coaster
By Tom Nussbaum
Located in New Orleans, LA
Tom Nussbaum is known for a variety of work including drawings, paper cuts, prints, sculpture, children’s books, animations, functional design objects, and site-specific commissions....
Steel
$6,750
H 9 in W 14 in D 4 in
John Van Alstine - Sisyphean Holiday 35 (Speckled Stone), Sculpture 2017
By John Van Alstine
Located in Stamford, CT
Riverstone/ Pigmented and sealed steel Stone and metal, usually granite or slate and found object steel are central in my sculpture. The interaction of these materials is a major fo...
Stone, Metal, Steel