François Morellet was a conceptual painter, sculptor, and light artist. He is best known for his intricate patterns and played a prominent role in the development of geometric abstract art. He believed in the idea of artists as facilitators, and disagreed with the concept of individual genius. Morellet was a key player in the Concrete Art movement and influenced by the Concrete-Constructivist and Neo-Plasticism groups. These groups impacted the way in which François Morellet saw the picture field as a infinite concept. Along with fellow artists Julio Le Parc and Francisco Sobrino, Morellet co-founded the Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel in 1961. This group, formed in Paris, was made up of eleven opto-kinetic artists, among which Morellet was a leading figure. It was formed to research new modes of artistic expressions. It was around this time that François Morellet began creating artworks with neon tubes. He would later go on to experiment with a wide variety of materials such as fabric, tape and walls. Retrospectives of Morellet’s artwork have been showcased at major institutions, such as Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven (1971), Nationalgalerie in Berlin (1977) and the Centre Pompidou in Parias (1986 and 2011). In 2010, Morellet achieved the distinguished honor of being the second living artist to exhibit his artwork at the Louvre Museum, marking this milestone with the inauguration of 'L’esprit d’escalier', a permanent site-specific installation. François Morellet was born 1926 in Cholet, France, where he also died in 2016, days after his 90th birthday.
