Bernar Venet - The dot hypothesis engravings

Considered as one of the key figures of conceptual art, Bernar Venet continually renews his practice, opening towards new fields of experimentation.

After emphasizing the fact that his art reposes on performances (that are less well known by the general public), and reconsidering his relationship with painting (through series of mathematical equations he began in 2001), he is now working on the vocabulary of his sculpture by moving form the Line to these series of “Dots”.

These works – cut out of steel with a blowtorch – are presented in a constellation on walls. In this manner, Bernar Venet questions the principles of chance while defining heterogeneous spaces that can be read as both three-dimensional sculptures and frontal planes with infinite dimensions.

He has just created an important breakthrough with a series of three engravings that illustrate this principle for Bernard Chauveau publishing and Néant publishing. This exceptional triptych (225 x 105 cm) also offers establishes a tension between the precision of his practice and the sensuality of his prints on copper plates.

By playing with texture and the white of the paper, and by the subtle inking from light grey to dense black, Bernar Venet gives the work a monumental, intimate character. The mass of Dots converse with their own subtle traces and shifting movements. Bernar Venet, in Hypotheses of Dots, offers a rare work, all the more exceptional because his engraved works are as yet uncommon.