December 20, 2006
Rather than present the viewer with distinct works of Art traditionally placed within a gallery space, Daniel Buren fills the walls of Modern Art Oxford with his signature 'stripe' motif. Buren started using the stripe in the late 1960's, when a piece of unauthorised public art work involved him pinning up striped posters in over 100 metro stations of his native Paris. The stripe is arguably the logo of traditional French fabric, sourced by Buren from a market in Montmartre, and sits well in Buren's 'Intervention II', one of the many London region based exhibitions in the current 'Paris Calling' series. Unlike the black geometric stripes of Mondrian, Buren's broad coloured stripes are not a destination but a 'seeing tool' that guides the viewer's gaze, like a signpost.
The repetitive simple sheets of coloured glass, hung in the upper gallery at right angles with the walls to catch the sun, literally lets the viewer see the gallery space in a new light. Buren's work is site specific, offering visitors the experience of revisiting a familiar place and seeing it take on a new meaning. An example is his 1986 work 'Les Deux Plateaux: Columns of Buren' that fills the great courtyard of Palais Royal in Paris. Whilst 'Intervention II' is hugely decorative it is also powerful in its ability to fill the space the work occupies and transform it completely. The beguiling simplicity of the design means there is nothing to distract from a possibly spiritual experience. Follow the coloured lines and see where the stripes take you!
The repetitive simple sheets of coloured glass, hung in the upper gallery at right angles with the walls to catch the sun, literally lets the viewer see the gallery space in a new light. Buren's work is site specific, offering visitors the experience of revisiting a familiar place and seeing it take on a new meaning. An example is his 1986 work 'Les Deux Plateaux: Columns of Buren' that fills the great courtyard of Palais Royal in Paris. Whilst 'Intervention II' is hugely decorative it is also powerful in its ability to fill the space the work occupies and transform it completely. The beguiling simplicity of the design means there is nothing to distract from a possibly spiritual experience. Follow the coloured lines and see where the stripes take you!