Renowned as a “giant of contemporary art,” Bernar Venet, born in 1941 in Château-Arnoux, France, has spent over six decades pushing the boundaries of artistic expression. As the most internationally exhibited French artist, Venet's radical style reimagines traditional sculpture forms and extends into various artistic realms, including monumental corten steel sculptures, painting, performance, poetry, sound, design, and photography.
From January 25 until March 8, 2024, Wetterling Gallery is showcasing Venet's latest works in an exhibition called “Disorganizing Order”. The exhibition features recent sculptures, drawings, and paintings by Venet and serves as a canvas for the artist's overarching “principle of equivalence.” This guiding principle, transcending disciplines, encapsulates his latest theoretical explorations, centred on concepts like entropy, unpredictability, and self-reference. At the core of the exhibition are the recent Collapses (Effondrements) - stacks of Arcs arranged by chance and gravity, challenging the traditional vertical structure of sculptures and offering a delicate balance between unpredictability and mathematical precision. The exhibition's final room features paintings from the Diffeomorphism (Difféomorphisme) series, where Venet digitally distorts scientific texts, creating a contrast between surface confusion and logical-mathematical formulas.
There is an interplay between order and disorder, precision and unpredictability, that dominates Venet’s works, adding depth and complexity. It encourages viewers to contemplate the balance between control and chance, while also challenging traditional artistic norms and inviting a closer examination of the relationships between opposing forces in his creations. With works in over 70 museums worldwide, Venet continues to captivate global audiences from his dual bases in France and New York.
Article written by Natalia Muntean.
Photos by Jean Baptiste Beranger, © Bernar Venet, courtesy of the artist and Wetterling Gallery Stockholm.
