Amitié Choisie

To mark the centenary of the birth of François Morellet (1926–2016), a series of events pays tribute to this major artist in French institutions connected with his work.

The exhibition “Amitié choisie : François Morellet et la collection Albers-Honegger” at the eac. highlights the intellectual, artistic and personal ties that bound the artist to the collector couple Gottfried Honegger and Sybil Albers, whose commitment profoundly shaped the recognition of concrete abstraction in Europe.

A self-taught and prolific artist, François Morellet stands out as one of the major figures of geometric abstraction and minimalism in France. Working mainly with elementary forms and a wide variety of materials – steel, neon, adhesive tape, wire mesh or wood – he sought to control the creative process and to demystify the romantic mythology of art and the inspired artist by championing a rigorous, objective methodology, often tinged with humour, in which every choice follows from a pre-established principle, sometimes even open to chance. His playfulness shows even in the titles of his works, rich in puns and wordplay. This position, tinged with humour and critical spirit, resonated particularly with Gottfried Honegger and Sybil Albers.

The relationship between Morellet and the collector couple went far beyond mere support: it rested on a genuine community of thought. They shared the same conception of art as a structured field of experimentation, free from subjective expressiveness and based on legible principles, and this intellectual and human closeness is reflected in the artist’s representation in the Albers-Honegger collection.

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100 X MORELLET

2026, CENTENARY OF THE BIRTH OF FRANÇOIS MORELLET

To mark the centenary of François Morellet’s birth, many institutions are coming together to pay tribute to one of the major figures of contemporary art, at the initiative of the Centre Pompidou.

Participating venues

Centre Pompidou-Metz • Centre Pompidou Francilien – fabrique de l’art, Massy • Château de Montsoreau – Musée d'art contemporain • Château de Versailles • Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Paris • École Nationale Supérieure d’art de Bourges • Espace de l’Art Concret (eac. – contemporary art centre of national interest), Mouans-Sartoux • Frac des Pays de La Loire, Carquefou • Galerie Mennour, Paris • Galerie de l’Hôtel de Ville, Chinon • Grand Palais, Paris • MAC VAL, Vitry-sur-Seine • [mac] musée d'art contemporain, Marseille • Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Cholet • Musée d’arts de Nantes • Musée de Grenoble • Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Angers • Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen • Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes • Musée du Louvre, Paris • Musée national Fernand Léger, Biot • Villa Médicis, Rome