Minimal
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November 17
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The Minimal exhibition at the Bourse de Commerce explores the global and international evolution of this movement, which since the early 1960s has radically reconsidered the status of artwork.
Characterized by an economy of means, pared-down aesthetics, and a reconsideration of the artwork’s placement in relation to the viewer, artists across Asia, Europe, North and South America challenged traditional methods of display. This approach invited a more direct, bodily interaction with the art, integrating the viewer and the environment into the artwork itself. While these transformations unfolded in distinct ways across different regions, they shared a common drive to expand the relationship between artwork and audience. For instance, in Japan, the Mono-ha movement, focused on bringing ‘things’ together in their natural, unaltered states, highlighting the interdependence of objects, space, and viewer. In Brazil, neo-concrete artists embraced a more sensual abstraction, countering the rigid forms of concrete art and fostering an intimate viewer connection. Meanwhile, in Europe, movements like Zero in Germany and Arte Povera in Italy pushed the boundaries of sculpture through minimalist forms and direct engagement with space, while in the U.S., Minimalist artists rejected traditional compositional techniques in favor of simplicity and materiality. Despite being rooted in local contexts, these developments emerged simultaneously, challenging the American-dominated narrative of Minimalism. Organised in seven thematics—Light, Mono-ha, Balance, Surface, Grid, Monochrome, Materialism — the exhibition, curated by Jessica Morgan, Director Dia Art Foundation, will foreground these unique yet interconnected artistic developments worldwide drawing on an exceptional group of works from the Pinault Collection, with additional loans from Dia Art Foundation and other private and public collections.
Characterized by an economy of means, pared-down aesthetics, and a reconsideration of the artwork’s placement in relation to the viewer, artists across Asia, Europe, North and South America challenged traditional methods of display. This approach invited a more direct, bodily interaction with the art, integrating the viewer and the environment into the artwork itself. While these transformations unfolded in distinct ways across different regions, they shared a common drive to expand the relationship between artwork and audience. For instance, in Japan, the Mono-ha movement, focused on bringing ‘things’ together in their natural, unaltered states, highlighting the interdependence of objects, space, and viewer. In Brazil, neo-concrete artists embraced a more sensual abstraction, countering the rigid forms of concrete art and fostering an intimate viewer connection. Meanwhile, in Europe, movements like Zero in Germany and Arte Povera in Italy pushed the boundaries of sculpture through minimalist forms and direct engagement with space, while in the U.S., Minimalist artists rejected traditional compositional techniques in favor of simplicity and materiality. Despite being rooted in local contexts, these developments emerged simultaneously, challenging the American-dominated narrative of Minimalism. Organised in seven thematics—Light, Mono-ha, Balance, Surface, Grid, Monochrome, Materialism — the exhibition, curated by Jessica Morgan, Director Dia Art Foundation, will foreground these unique yet interconnected artistic developments worldwide drawing on an exceptional group of works from the Pinault Collection, with additional loans from Dia Art Foundation and other private and public collections.