The exhibition Shapes: Patterns in Art and Science explores the richness of the natural and artificial patterns that surround us. Bringing together art, mathematics, materials science and biology, it highlights the shared fascination of scientists and artists with geometric, dynamic and symmetrical structures.
At the Roots of E8, Kirell Benzi, 2024.
Moiré Patterns. Image: Michael Herbst, modified from Wikipedia (Moiré of twisted bilayer graphene). Under the Attribution Sharealike 4.0 International License.
Microbial Ice. Photo taken with a microscope by Estelle Pignon, Laboratory led by Yolanda Schaerli, Fundamental Microbiology Department, University of Lausanne & NCCR Microbiomes.
Pyrite Crystal. Collection of the Department of Geology, Cantonal Museum of Natural Sciences (Naturéum).
Photo: Stefan Ansermet
Exploring Sphere Packings, Kirell Benzi, 2024.
Prototypes for Aetherocohedron, Mark Pauly with Josua Putzke, as part of the EPFL-CDH AiR Program, Enter the Hyper-Scientific. 2024
Photo: Remy Ugarte Vallejos
Aquamarine. Collection of the Department of Geology, Cantonal Museum of Natural Sciences (Naturéum).
Photo: Stefan Ansermet
Hofstadter’s Butterfly. Image produced by Yifei Guan, Chair of Computational Condensed Matter Physics, C3MP, led by Oleg Yazyev, Institute of Physics, EPFL.
Block of Sulfur with Fenestrated Sides. Collection of the Department of Geology, Cantonal Museum of Natural Sciences (Naturéum).
Photo: Stefan Ansermet
Cyclicity, Hugo Parlier & Bruno Teheux, 2025
The common project of art and science is to understand the world, tell its story, and recreate it. In all its multiplicity, reality projects itself onto our senses, revealing shapes, contours, and shadows. Our minds begin to detect regularities and structures. Observing and exploring these structures is fundamental to both artists and scientists, while organising and classifying them lies at the core of mathematics.
The exhibition Shapes: Patterns in Art and Science invites the public to discover the richness and subtlety often hidden behind simple, repetitive patterns. Visitors discover ensembles of bacteria, crystals and spheres, whose dynamic patterns reveal rich, aesthetically pleasing structures, closely linked to current scientific research.
Their aesthetics are echoed in the works of art that complete this panorama of forms: along the emblematic works of Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972), the exhibition brings together works by contemporary artists inspired by mathematics, merging artistic vision and scientific exploration. Aimed at a wide audience, Shapes encourages people to interact, discover and express themselves.