Simple Forms: Contemplating Beauty

The first joint exhibition by Mori Art Museum, Centre Pompidou-Metz and Fondation d'entreprise Hermès!

In Europe during the 19th and early 20th centuries, explorations in fields such as mathematics, mechanical engineering, biology, geology and archeology sparked a renewed awareness of the aesthetics of "simple forms" that had a major influence on the design of industrial goods, buildings and so on. Similarly, the elegant lines of such "simple forms" exerted a powerful allure for artists, leading to the creation of many famous works of modern art.
Meanwhile, these simple, beautiful forms can also be found abundantly in nature, in primitive art the world over, in folk art, and in traditional cultures. In Japan, a similar aesthetic is embodied in the likes of crafts, tea ceremony utensils, Buddhist statues, and Zen paintings.
The exhibition brings together around 130 of these "simple forms" from around the world, and across the ages, presented in nine sections. It will offer a panoramic view of a timeless, universal aesthetic, showing the geographical spread and historic links of that aesthetic from prehistoric stone implement to dynamic, cutting-edge installations by contemporary artists. The universal beauty of "simple forms" may prompt us to rethink what truly brings richness to our lives.