Bernar Venet Interviewed in Something Curated

Something Curated Editor, Keshav Anand, interviews French conceptual artist Bernar Venet on the occasion of his new exhibition at Waddington Custot, When Steel Dreams of Code.

In this interview, Anand explores how Venet, now 84, continues to defy convention with When Steel Dreams of Code, a new exhibition at Waddington Custot, London (6 June–19 July 2025). The show features Generative Angles Paintings: algorithmically created images, executed by a painting process without Venet ever touching the canvas.

Developed in collaboration with Berlin-based coders, the project revisits the generative principles that have shaped Venet’s six-decade career, from his early charcoal piles and mathematical diagrams to his gravity-formed steel sculptures. “AI is not a collaborator,” Venet insists. “It’s a tool, like a brush. The concept is mine.” Speaking from his vast sculpture park and foundation in Le Muy, Provence, Venet reflects on a lifelong pursuit of unpredictability and intellectual rigor in art. “I want to remove the hand. Remove the ego,” he says. “Each year, I ask: what can I do that I haven’t done yet?”

In When Steel Dreams of Code, Venet once again pushes boundaries – and imagines a practice that could outlive him. 

Read the full article here.