From 8 October 2025, the Bourse de Commerce is hosting a major exhibition dedicated to Minimalist art. Based on the core of the collection assembled over more than fifty years by François Pinault—one of the most substantial in the world in this field—“Minimal” unveils for the first time more than a hundred major works that trace the diversity of this movement since the 1960s, when a whole generation of artists (Dan Flavin, Robert Ryman, On Kawara, Agnes Martin, François Morellet, and others) initiated a radical approach to art. “For the first time, I am revealing the most personal aspect of my art collection. This is the driving force that has accompanied and inspired me for over fifty years,” says François Pinault.
Alongside these masterpieces from the Pinault Collection, loans from prestigious collections highlight the historical importance and international resonance of the themes that run through the exhibition. “Minimal” is curated by Jessica Morgan, Director of Dia Art Foundation, who has brought together more than a hundred works created by some fifty artists from Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
The exhibition “Minimal” explores the global shift in art from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, and the influence of this movement, focusing on the radical rethinking of the art object. 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, and North and South America challenged traditional methods of display. This approach invited a more direct, bodily interaction with the work, 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 question the relationship between artwork and audience.
For instance, in Japan, the Mono-ha movement focused on bringing mono or “things” together in their natural or industrially fabricated states, highlighting the interdependence of object, space, and viewer. In Brazil, neo-concrete artists embraced a more sensual abstraction, countering the rigid forms of concrete art and fostering an intimate connection with the viewer. Meanwhile, in Europe, movements like Zero in Germany and Arte Povera in Italy pushed the boundaries of sculpture through abstract forms and direct engagement with space, while in the US, Minimalist artists rejected traditional compositional techniques in favour of a pared-down aesthetic and industrial materials. Despite being rooted in local contexts, these developments emerged simultaneously, challenging the US-dominated narrative of Minimalism.
Organised in seven thematic sections—Light, Mono-ha, Balance, Surface, Grid, Monochrome, and Materialism—the exhibition, curated by Jessica Morgan, Director of Dia Art Foundation, highlights these unique yet interconnected global artistic developments drawing on an exceptional group of works from Pinault Collection, with additional loans from Dia Art Foundation and other private and public collections.
With its precise expression and its radicalism that eliminates superfluous detail, Minimal Art captures the heart of the matter. It was through Minimal Art that I realised that the mind could be freed to venture beyond appearances. For the first time, I am revealing the most personal aspect of my art collection. This is the driving force that has accompanied and inspired me for over fifty years.
François Pinault
With artworks by: Rasheed Araeen / McArthur Binion / Chryssa / Mary Corse / Walter De Maria / Melvin Edwards / Koji Enokura / Dan Flavin / Felix Gonzalez-Torres / Hans Haacke / Maren Hassinger / Mary Heilmann / Eva Hesse / Nancy Holt / Robert Irwin / Donald Judd / On Kawara / Susumu Koshimizu / David Lamelas / Seung-Taek Lee / Lee Ufan / Sol LeWitt / Francesco Lo Savio / Bernd Lohaus / Brice Marden / Enzo Mari / Agnes Martin / François Morellet / Senga Nengudi / Helio Oiticica / Pauline Oliveros / Blinky Palermo / Lygia Pape / Howardena Pindell / Charlotte Posenenske / Steve Reich / Bridget Riley / Dorothea Rockburne / Robert Ryman / Nobuo Sekine / Richard Serra / Keith Sonnier / Michelle Stuart / Kishio Suga / Jiro Takamatsu / Anne Truitt / Günther Uecker / Yoshi Wada / Merrill Wagner / Meg Webster / Jackie Winsor / Iannis Xenakis
Curated by: Jessica Morgan, Director of Dia Art Foundation
© Text and Photo Courtesy of Bourse de Commerce—Pinault Collection
