At FVTVR, digital art and minimal techno meet through cycles of repetition, shifting imagery and sound. On October 24th-25th, 2026, the Paris venue will host a 24-hour programme featuring electronic music pioneer Richie Hawtin and digital artist john gerrard, extending Art Basel Paris 2026 into the night. Part of Reference Festival, the event moves between generative installations, a live conversation, DJ sets and performance, connecting the attentive gaze of the exhibition space with the collective energy of the dance floor.
From solar cycles to shifting sound
The programme opens at noon on Saturday, October 24th, with a conversation between Hawtin and gerrard, moderated by Marc Spiegler. Until midnight, infin.1.iridescent.stream pairs a generative digital image with an evolving musical composition. An iridescent Albert’s python forms an ouroboros, the ancient symbol of cyclical renewal, its body curving into a figure of eight as its mouth meets its tail. Over a simulated solar year, its colours shift from nocturnal blues to the reds and oranges of daylight.
An original composition by Plastikman, Hawtin’s musical alias, accompanies the image, continuously reworked by Bronze.ai. Subtle changes in sound and colour keep the work in flux, reflecting gerrard’s use of real-time simulations to examine the industrial and energy systems shaping contemporary life. Hawtin’s minimal techno, meanwhile, finds its force in rhythm, repetition and minute variations.
A defining figure in electronic music, Hawtin helped shape minimal techno through the labels Plus 8 and M_nus and his work as Plastikman. Gerrard’s digital simulations feature in collections including Tate, MoMA and the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Their collaboration at FVTVR draws on a shared interest in systems that evolve over time.
MINUS+ and SPIRITS: from digital art to the dance floor
At midnight, the programme moves into MINUS+, a night curated by Hawtin with sets by Richie Hawtin, Matador, Courtesy, Kristin Velvet and Reece Pritchard. Alongside the music, gerrard’s SPIRITS combines installation and live performance with Anastasia Giovani, connecting digital imagery with material waste and environmental responsibility.
The work originates in 96 plastic shoes and sandals collected from the shores of the Pacific, Indian, Mediterranean and Atlantic oceans. Photographed and reconstructed digitally, the discarded objects become shifting sculptural forms, their oily reflections evoking ocean currents. Commissioned by the Art + Technology Lab at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), SPIRITS follows a solar-year cycle marked by solstices and equinoxes. Its glossy surfaces contrast with the persistence of plastic pollution and the reach of petroleum into everyday life.
Practical information
Location: FVTVR, 34 quai d’Austerlitz, 75013 Paris
Dates: Saturday, 24 October, noon, to Sunday, 25 October 2026, noon
- Saturday, noon–midnight: Conversation and infin.1.iridescent.stream; free entry
- Sunday, midnight–noon: MINUS+ DJ sets and SPIRITS; ticketed
Tickets: Shotgun
Photography by MATIAS GARCIA
Special thanks to SPREAD THE WORD COMMUNICATIONS
