Shapes Symposium

Watch the talks:

• 09:00–9:15

Welcome & café

• 09:15–10:45
• Panel 1: Archetypes in Art and Mathematics

An archetype is a fundamental and recurring model that embodies universal forms or structures : the sphere can be viewed as an instance of archetype traversing both art and mathematics. What other examples illustrate the influence of archetypes in these fields? How do such archetypes inspire research and creation in art and mathematics? Finally, what are the commonalities and divergences in the way art and mathematics approach and interpret these archetypes?

With the participation of: Marc Troyanov, Paul Turner, Indira Chatterji, Etienne Krähenbühl, Louis de Saussure, Valérie Felix

• 11:00–12:30
• Panel 2: Art, Math, and the Art of Mathematical Mediation

Visualized mathematics has always been a part of mathematical mediation. But is it art?
More generally, how important are aesthetics in mediation? While mathematics and abstract art share a similar problem of conveying complex messages, is there a way of bringing these two worlds together which is beneficial to both?

With the participation of: Kirsi Peltonen, Hugo Parlier, Bruno Teheux, Nina Gasking, Olga Paris Romaskevich

• 12:30–14:00

Lunch buffet + self-guided tours of the the exhibition

• 14:00–15:30
• Panel 3: Shapes in Nature

Is nature inherently geometric? Does geometry imitate nature? Is it just us humans who like to see regularity in the world around us? And if we depict nature to communicate science, can or should this have an artistic value?

With the participation of: Michael Herbst, Gregor Jotzu, Julien Meyer, Veneta Gerganova

• 15:30–16:00

Keynote guest: Marilyne Andersen

• 16:15–17:15

Shapes guided tour with the curators and artists

Speakers' bios

• Olga Paris-Romaskevich

  
  

  Olga Paris-Romaskevich is a CNRS researcher at Institut Camille Jordan in Lyon, a mathematician working in dynamical systems, active in science outreach and regularly exploring the forms where science outreach and art can bring something to one another. Since 2018, she runs a cinema club in Lyon “Bobines de Sciences”. She also is a script writer for animation movies in math (“Voyages au pays des maths” directed by Denis van Waerbaeke), a blogger about lives of women in mathematics in 2021 Russia (MAТЕМАТИКА: through a land of mathematics, project with Bertrand Paris-Romaskevich), and a creator of a “Streetmath project” (with Marie Lhuissier) drawing math-inspired chalk urban installations in big enough groups.
  
  In 2023, she organised a workshop Maths and arts: creating together for 10 mathematicians and 10 artists, that inspired several collaborations, one of which is her ongoing work with Sylvie Pic, a painter who explores the sensual life of geometric forms. Olga (in collaboration with Bruno Sevennec) is trying to “translate” Sylvie Pic's last series of works into mathematical terms, i.e. to study the topological properties of non-orientable ruled surfaces immersed in euclidean space (whatever that means!).

  
  
• Bruno Teheux

  
  

  Bruno Teheux is Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Luxembourg, where he has worked since 2012. He received his PhD from the University of Liège in 2009 and worked at Animath in Paris from 2010 to 2012. His research focuses on algebraic aspects of non-classical logics and ordered algebraic structures. Bruno Teheux collaborates on mathematics outreach initiatives that reach thousands annually, including a data sonification project for Esch 2022 European Capital of Culture and two interactive mathematics exhibitions at the Luxembourg Pavilion during World Expo Dubai 2020. Through the integration of art and mathematics, he works to transform how people view mathematics, drawing on emotional connections to kindle curiosity.

  
  
• Nina Gasking

  
  

  Nina Gasking is an outreach officer at the Maison des Mathématiques et de l'Informatique (MMI) in Lyon, a centre dedicated to mathematical and computer science outreach within the university system. She is the curator of the exhibition Dans ma cuisine, which was awarded the Simon Norton Prize for Mathematical Outreach. She specialises in designing a wide range of activities for school students and the general public, working closely with researchers to bring mathematical concepts to life. Used to transforming complex mathematical ideas into engaging, hands-on experiences, she navigates the challenge of making abstract concepts accessible—while recognising that not everything can be easily translated into an activity or a visual form.

  
  
• Indira Chatterji

  
  

  Indira Chatterji is a Mathematician, Professor and Science Communicator. She holds a PhD in Mathematics from ETH Zurich and has been a professor in the USA, France, and India. Specializing in geometric group theory and operator algebras, she draws inspiration from random walks and explores applications such as post-quantum cryptography and topological data analysis. Passionate about science communication, she co-founded kits.math.cnrs.fr, co-wrote the play Mathopoly, and co-organized the Climathics and Climathiques conferences on mathematics and climate change. As a visual mathematician, she shares her insights through animations, valuing the craftsmanship of visualization as a means to engage audiences with deep mathematical ideas.

  
  
• Valérie Félix

  
  

  Valérie Félix is an art historian specializing in digital art and cultural studies. Trained in photography at CEPV Vevey, she earned her BA and MA in Art History at the University of Montreal. From 2019 to 2025, she taught digital art and cultural studies at EDHEA, where she also led the Fine Arts Department (2023–2025). She initiated and curates the Code/Art Research Program, organizes exhibitions, directs the XRésidence at World XR Forum, and participates in several committees related to artistic residencies and public art collections. Her work bridges art, technology, and education through research, teaching, and curation.

  
  
• Etienne Krähenbühl

  
  

  Born in Vevey in 1953, Etienne Krähenbühl studied at the Lausanne School of Art before working in Barcelona and Paris. His sculptures explore time, material, and movement, influenced by his collaboration with EPFL scientist Dr. Rolf Gotthardt on shape-memory and super-elastic metals. His monumental yet delicate works incorporate sound and motion, pushing the limits of materials to create poetic and dynamic forms. Since the 1970s, he has exhibited worldwide, including in Switzerland, France, Spain, the USA, Lebanon, China, India and Kazakhstan. He received the Edouard Maurice Sandoz Foundation Award in 2009 and currently works in La Sarraz and Yverdon, Switzerland.

  
  
• Louis de Saussure

  
  

  Louis de Saussure is a Linguist, Novelist and Poet. Professor of linguistics at the University of Neuchâtel, Louis de Saussure specializes in semantics (the study of meaning) and pragmatics (the contextualized study of how language is used), focusing on the central question of how language conveys meaning and influences behavior. A founding member of the Cognitive Science Centre, he has taught in the USA, UK, France and Switzerland. Outside academia, he explores language through literature, publishing a story (Apprends-moi à danser), collections of poetry (Maritimes, Trajets Restants), a novel (Trois voyages à Potamia) and a book on communication (Des mots et des couleurs). His work links linguistics, cognition and creative writing.

  
  
• Kirsi Peltonen

  
  

  Kirsi Peltonen is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis at Aalto University and Adjunct Professor at the University of Helsinki. Her research in mathematics is related to the fields of quasiconformal and quasiregular mappings, differential geometry, and dynamics. She administers the Math and Arts program at Aalto University, whose interdisciplinary courses lie at the intersection of mathematics, visual arts, design and architecture. These courses are open to students in all levels of education, from schools within Aalto University and other universities in Finland, as well as to schoolteachers. She has organized exhibitions at the Finnish Science Centre Heureka, the Espoo Cultural Centre, and FutureLab Shanghai together with a multidisciplinarity Aalto team. She has given talks i.a. at the 2016 Bridges Conference (Jyväskylä, Finland), at the 2017 Geometry Labs United Conference (Seattle), and at the 2018 International Congress of Mathematicians. She was the chair of the organizing committee for the 2022 Bridges Conference (Aalto University, Finland). In 2018 she was recognized by the Finnish Mathematical Society for her efforts to synthesize math, art, design and architecture through these courses. Part of this work is documented in book ‘Shapes in Action: Interdisciplinary views on Mathematics together with Arts, Design and Architecture at Aalto University’ edited jointly with Art Educator D.A. Taneli Luotoniemi.

  
  
• Veneta Gerganova

  
  

  Veneta is a science communication and media relations specialist providing services through her own company Gerganova Science Consulting. She has a long scientific track record through her PhD in bacterial genetics (Jacobs University Bremen) and postdoc in molecular biology from the University of Lausanne and Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen. Veneta has been actively involved in the art scene, as director and choreographer of seven full-length dance and visual performances, and founder of the Scientific Art Exhibition non-profit organization Figure 1.A.

  
  
• Gregor Jotzu

  
  

  Gregor Jotzu is a professor of Materials Science at EPFL. He is heading the Dynamic Quantum Materials laboratory, exploring how driving materials with intense ultrashort laser pulses can be used to control and understand their emergent properties. He studied Physics at Oxford University, History of Science at Harvard University, and received his PhD from ETH Zurich.

  
  
• Julien Meyer

  
  

  Julien Meyer is the Head of Science Mediation and Public Engagement at the National Museum of Natural History of Luxembourg. Holding a PhD in Mathematics from the Université libre de Bruxelles, he is a passionate science communicator. His interests span from the fundamental laws of physics that govern our universe to the stories of its inhabitants and the traces they leave behind.