Random Distribution of 40,000 Squares Using the Odd and Even Numbers of a Telephone Directory, 1954
Oil on canvas
103 x 103 cm
Collection Danielle and François Morellet

Morellet let his local telephone directory dictate the chromatic composition of this two-colour painting. Working through the columns of telephone numbers, Morellet translated each odd digit to red and each even digit to blue. He worked steadily across the canvas from left to right, top to bottom, painting each square with the colour his code had randomly designated for it. It took nearly seven thousand phone numbers to fill his canvas.