One of France's most uniquely compelling artists, Bernar Venet has devoted the last two decades to an investigation of meaning and form in sculpture. Venet was trained as a painter but quickly became involved with conceptual art, experimenting with mathematical and aesthetic principles in a variety of media, particularly sculpture. In this illustrated book, critic Carter Ratcliff provides an illuminating look at the complex relationship between form, language, and meaning in Venet's recent work.

The first true monograph on the work of celebrated French conceptual artist and sculptor Bernar Venet Bernar Venet is one of France's most celebrated living artists. Having emerged from the late 1960s avant-garde scene in New York, Venet developed a personal aesthetic based on an innovative use of mathematics and science, where control, chance, and chaos converge to form a fine equilibrium while investigating their relationship with the environment. Conversant in many media, Venet is mostly known for his monumental outdoor sculptures in major cities worldwide and, in fall 19, his Arc Majeur is due for completion at a site in Belgium - at almost 200 feet in height (60 metres), Venet's sculpture will be taller than New York's Statue of Liberty.

If it is not surprising how many mediums Bernar Venet has worked in, from sculpture to painting to photography to sound to furniture, it is surprising how many he has used in performance. From the first moments of "Performance dans les détritus" in 1961 through sound compositions corresponding to and implicating his visual work, to a ballet for which he wrote the music, created the choreography and designed both the set and costumes, Venet has been omnivorous, recording mathematical poems on vinyl, the engines of the Concorde on CD and finally the sounds of the creation of his own sculpture. In 2004, Venet had three simultaneous solo shows in New York City, two at the Robert Miller and Jim Kempner galleries and a third along the Park Avenue Mall, where his large-scale Indeterminate Line pieces were installed. In 2005 he was named Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, France's highest decoration.