The exhibition “Geometry of Light” by artist Franklin Bault blends art and science

[Press Release] - Published on March 18, 2024 in Art & Culture, Press Room

From April 3 to May 15, 2024, as part of the Higher Education Arts & Culture Days (JACES), the Richter University Library at the University of Montpellier is hosting the exhibition “Geometry of Light.” This exhibition brings together physics and chemistry with the visual arts, where light, atomic structures, and molecular structures inspire the creative imagination of visual artist Franklin Bault. The exhibition opening will take place on Friday, April 5, at 12:30 p.m., in the entrance hall of the Richter University Library, with the artist in attendance.

This exhibition is the result of exchanges with scientists, cultural project managers and their teams, technicians, gallery owners, as well as a dialogue with a specific venue: the university library. Open to everyone, this exhibition also offers an opportunity for the public to engage with science, sculpture, painting, and, of course, art installations.

The starting point: a meeting between an artist and some scientists

This art exhibition stems from artist Franklin Bault’s fascination with sciences such as physics and chemistry. Indeed, this fascination has led him to create works closely tied to these two disciplines. It follows his 2022 collaboration with the COSA (Connection Sciences Arts) group, which brings together researchers in chemistry and biology, architects, and staff from the Charles Gerhardt Institute of Montpellier (ICGM), the Montpellier Center for Cell Biology Research (CRBM), the Host-Pathogen Interactions Laboratory (LPHI), and the National School of Architecture of Montpellier (ENSAM). This meeting with the COSA group led to Franklin Bault’s first exhibition, held as part of the 2022 Festival of Science at the Charles Gerhardt Institute in Montpellier.

The Exhibition and the Artist in a Nutshell

Franklin Bault’s imagination is fueled by physics and chemistry. In this exhibition, the properties of light resonate with those of color. Through his sculptures—or, more precisely, his assemblages—the artist explores scientific hypotheses regarding the structure of atoms, as summarized in Mendeleev’s periodic table.

“My work is also often a reflection on how to establish a connection between an exhibition and a space. This connection can be formal, but not exclusively so. In this sense, it is also a reflection on installation—a relatively innovative approach in contemporary art.” Franklin Bault.

Keywords: Art and Culture, Exhibition, Science