Opus Sectile, from hardstone marquetry to aurèce vettier Darmo & Galerie Gismondi, Paris

Opus Sectile brings together nearly one hundred works in hard stone marquetry, from the Renaissance to the European Baroque, and innovative works generated by algorithms and artificial intelligence.

Confronted, juxtaposed or mixed, the hard stones compose with the works of the French collective aurèce vettier, founded by Paul Mouginot in 2019: a powerful contemporary dialogue. The common ambition of the Gismondi Gallery and Darmo is to make fine and decorative arts, human intelligence and artificial intelligence resonate, combining the expertise of ancient art with the innovation of contemporary art and highlighting the essential roles of technique and creativity in any artistic production.

"Never before has there been such a retrospective on this unique and little-known technique. This exhibition is the result of more than half a century of research." Éric Reymond, director at Gismondi Gallery

Pioneers of the new mediums, aurèce vettier and the markers share mastery, audacity and sensitivity. Contrary to the customs of their times, these hybrid practices appear as attempts to approach reality, using the best tools at their disposal. If in the 19th century, the philosopher Auguste Comte already affirmed that scientific progress would inexorably replace any theological belief or metaphysical explanation, the meeting of these advanced practices reaffirms that technical progress and the associated gesture can be put at the service of a sensual and exploratory understanding of our world. Whether manual or mathematical, the know-how developed by the collective refers to the notion of technè, a term borrowed from ancient Greece designating the quality of the work. The craftsman marker cuts the raw material of hard stones while aurèce vettier cuts the immaterial material generated by artificial intelligence.