Around 300 BC a Grecian named Euclid compiled a collection of mathematical theories into a book that is know as Elements. It became a standard of measurement essential to our ability to comprehend our surroundings. Some of the most important aspects of this book were definitions of fundamental geometrical terms: the point, the line, the angle, the surface, the circle and the arc. These definitions and their pictographs helped mathematics become a universal language and tool.

Perhaps it was the objective and definitive nature of these elements that appealed to Bernar Venet. A French artist, Venet uses sculptural translations of lines, surfaces, arcs, and angles to create conceptual artworks liberated of the figurative and abstracted readings of art over the centuries.

Following the installation of his Indetermined Line at the Colorado Convention Center in 2004, Venet’s sculptures have become recognizable throughout Denver, Colorado. Robischon Gallery¬¬—located only a few blocks from the Convention Center¬—presented a sight of Venet’s small-scaled work in July.

Venet’s 219° Arc x 5 was prominently displayed in the foyer of the gallery like a guest of honor. This sculpture (about 4.5’ tall and wide, and 1’ deep) presented a circle described by five steadily arced sections of rolled steel that were affixed depth-wise and staggered counter-and-clockwise to its length to leave a section of the form’s top un-circumscribed. Its rust patina and form directly related to its identity as an industrial sculptural material and communicated aesthetic interest similar to Venet’s American contemporaries: Richard Serra and Joel Shapiro.

Six small-scaled metal sculptures (which could have fit within a 2’ cube) were displayed on two long pedestals in the center of the gallery. A black patina over these sculptures created an illusion of added thickness and weight. Each work presented compositions of arcs that highlighted the relationship between the 5-15 segments included. Due to Venet’s reputation as a large-scale sculptor, it was somewhat natural to view these pieces as maquettes for larger works, and to image how they might relate to the human body if they were in the finished size. The smaller scale’s obvious advantage was the possibility to experience many of Venet’s works in one space and to thus compare the elements and compositions with a bird’s eye view.

Displayed on the wall behind these sculptures, a series of six lithographs depicted indeterminate lines.

Drawings seem to often add an odd mix to the work of a sculptor. They can add new perspectives to the artist’s three-dimensional pieces, draw attention to particular details, reveal thoughts or processes integral to a particular sculpture, or describe different subjects all together. Venet’s drawings appear at first to be preparation studies for his sculptures, but upon closer view the artist’s expressive and abstracted markings seem a little too planned. Smudges and free-handed lines supplement the lithographs and silkscreen installations, producing a gritty style similar to the “grudge” effects that have lately become fashionable in graphic design. Yet this effect feels intrusively simulated within the prints’ carefully arranged context. This interruption is further felt when displayed in the same room as his sculptural works—which seem further developed in the skills of expression and reflection.

Near the back of the gallery, six bright yellow and blue works on paper were displayed in a grid on the wall. On each printed surface, mathematical diagrams explain theories through compositions of symbols, letters and numbers. Titles such as 4b+ and 3y- cause the works to appear inaccessible. Critic Thomas McEvilley wrote of this series, “from Venet’s point of view, knowledge of [the formulas’] significance would not add to the viewer’s relationship with the paintings. Even if an occasional viewer who happens to be an expert in the field involved recognizes the formula and understands it, this would not help him or her penetrate any further into the experience. For Venet, it is the essential unavailability of the content, its pristine seclusion […] to which the viewer does not have access, that is the point.”

Without an understanding of Venet’s references to mathematical pictograms in his sculptures, it might take a little convincing to believe that the same artist who created the earthly-toned sculptures and paintings in the front of the gallery also created this series of brightly hued prints. Yet, the numbering and lettering of these paintings are suggestive of the arc, or angle measurements, which are inscribed into each of Venet’s determined lines.

The reiteration of measurements and mathematical theories mark the singular philosophy of mathematical pictography that stands in the center of Venet’s work prior his indeterminate lines. Mathematical figures and drawings are not representational or abstracted from personal expression or narrative. They are objective, definitive, and ideal. According to Venet, the attraction to exploring mathematics in his artwork was inspired by the concept of monosemy – that an image or artwork could communicate a single meaning without ambiguity.

But a line—like a photograph—is worth a thousand words. And though it is enjoyable to see Venet’s sculptures within the idea of monosemy it is exciting to see how Venet’s measurements through angles, lines, and arcs of gargantuan proportions can appear like the toys of some divine architect measuring and planning civilized spaces. His works seem at times to be ultimately playful as it interacts with architecture, landscaping, and highways across the world.

In the 1970s, Venet created indeterminate lines as a way to move beyond symmetry and the preordained harmony of measured lines. An interesting dimension arose from Venet’s two-dimensional and three-dimensional work when he distinguished between a measured arc and an undetermined line. Art Historian Carter Ratcliff speaks to this contrast, “when Venet calls a piece ‘random’ he means that no principle guides the arrangement of its parts. By an ‘indeterminate’ line, he means in this instance a straight line of steel that departs from regularity according to no plan.” The concept of working without a plan seems very awkward given the size and weight of this artist’s keystone material, yet Venet began making lines that maintained their curves but were crimped and twisted through space. Dipicted in his works on paper, this new process brought a heightened element of discovery and expression to his work as long lines emerged and shifted unexpectedly through space – free of the restraints of gravity.