FRANÇOIS MORELLET

This fall, Villa Medici pays tribute to one of the leading figures in contemporary art through the exhibition François Morellet: Roman Picnic. Presented from October 9, 2026 to January 18, 2027 and curated by Alessandro Gallicchio, director of the Art History Department of the French Academy in Rome, the exhibition showcases five of the artistʼs works, distributed around several of Villa Mediciʼs historic spaces.

The painting 40 lignes au hasard (spéciales dessus de cheminée rue Fallempin) [40 Random Lines] (2002) takes its place in The Muses Room, in the heart of the Cardinal Ferdinando deʼ Medici apartments. Two works composed of neon tubes, emblematic of the artistʼs practice, are presented in the small Balthus studio, as well as the adjacent loggia: Lamentable Ø 4m50 blanc [Despicable Ø 4m50 White] (2006) and Triangle néons rouges interférents [Interfering Red Neon Triangle] (1973-2026). Finally, in Balthusʼs studio, the two mural installations 3D concertant [3D Concertant] and 3D bandes décimées [3D Decimated Bands] (2015) reveal all the power of his abstract language.

A prolific self-taught artist, François Morellet developed a radical approach to geometric abstraction over the course of a career spanning more than six decades. Working mainly with simple forms (squares, lines, triangles, circles), he embraced an aesthetic of reduction and sought to demystify the figure of the inspired artist, using multiple materials (paint, steel, neon tubes, adhesive tape, wood…).

“I have very stubbornly produced systematic works whose constant approach has been to reduce my arbitrary decisions to the minimum. In order to limit my sensibility as an “artist”, I have eliminated “composition”, removed all interest from execution and rigorously applied simple, obvious systems that can develop either through genuine chance or through viewer participation.” (François Morellet, Du spectateur au spectateur ou l’art de déballer son pique-nique, 1971.)

His work is present in the leading French public collections, as well as in numerous international museums. Already shown at Villa Medici in 2017 as part of the Ouvert la Nuit festival, under the curatorship of Chiara Parisi, François Morelletʼs art returns to Villa Medici for the exhibition Roman Picnic, which invites us to take it at its word. Indeed, as early as 1971 François Morellet envisaged an artwork as a “picnic spot”: an open space where each viewer contributes and shares whatever they wish. Doing as little as possible therefore becomes an artistic approach, an act that involves a radical reductionism, imbued with rigor and playfulness. The exhibition at Villa Medici continues that spirit and celebrates a demystified form of art in which the viewer becomes a participant, free to organize their own Roman “picnic” in turn. The walkthrough extends beyond the confines of Villa Medici, as far as the Re di Roma metro station, where visitors can discover the mosaic work created by the artist in 1997 for the Arte Metro Roma urban art program.

Practical information

Schedules
Open daily from 10am to 7pm, last entry at 6:30pm
Closed on Tuesdays

Prices:
€18 (full price)
€15 (reduced price)
Free admission under certain conditions

François Morellet’s works can only be viewed as part of the guided tour of the Villa Medici (duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes). See this page for tour schedules.

Book a guided tour

Please read this before you come

• Pets, motorcycle and bicycle helmets, strollers, large bags, and suitcases are not permitted inside the Villa Medici.
• The Villa Medici does not have a coat check or luggage storage on site.
• Some areas of the Villa Medici are partially accessible to people with limited mobility (exhibition halls) or completely inaccessible (the M. Piccoli movie theater). If this applies to you, please consult the “Accessibility and Services ” section and contact us before your visit so that we can ensure you have the best possible experience (select “Visit the Villa”).