SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
François Morellet (Cholet, 1926–2016) was a French artist associated with geometric abstraction. Turning to abstraction in 1950, he developed a deliberately restricted vocabulary of lines, squares and colours. His compositions follow rules established before execution, while chance can operate within this framework to determine the distribution of elements. Discovering Max Bill’s work and concrete art strengthened this approach. From 1961 to 1968, Morellet participated in the Groupe de recherche d’art visuel (GRAV), whose members collectively explored optical effects and visual perception. From the early 1960s, he used neon and electric light, sometimes inviting viewers to activate his works. His investigations subsequently extended beyond the picture surface to walls and architecture. Wordplay, displacement and humour accompany the rigour of his methods: geometry becomes both a means of constructing an artwork and a way of questioning familiar habits of looking.
This profile brings together identity references for François Morellet and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Germann · Lempertz
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Baumzweig, Bleistift und Papier in Holz und Plexiglaskasten
Catalogue period : 2019-06-19
Published result : 5591 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 3000–5000
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Acryl auf Karton auf Kunststoff
Auction date : 2019-06-01
Published result : 8680 EUR
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : 7000
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Eisendraht über Acryl auf Holz
Catalogue period : 2017-06-21
Published result : 115520 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 30000–40000
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Acrylic on canvas
10 lignes au hazard, no.75084, no.2
Acryl auf Leinwand
Auction date : 2016-12-03
Published result : 32240 EUR
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : 15000
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Acrylic on wood
4 trames : 1°–89°–91°–179°, 1971
Acryl auf Holz
Catalogue period : 2013-06-15
Published result : 40000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 40000–60000
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Oil on wood
5 Trames, 1959-69
Öl auf Holz.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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Oil on canvas
2 doubles trames + 1° - 1°, 1974
Öl auf Leinwand.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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