Daniel Buren
ABOUT THE ARITST
Daniel Buren is a French artist known for using a consistent visual motif of vertical stripes to investigate space, context, and perception. Emerging in the late 1960s, he challenged traditional exhibition formats by creating works directly tied to their surroundings rather than producing portable objects. His installations often interact with architecture, altering how viewers experience scale, rhythm, and movement. Buren has worked extensively in public spaces, museums, and historic sites, applying color and pattern to reveal underlying structures. His approach emphasizes the relationship between artwork and location, making each project dependent on its setting. Over decades, he has become a key figure in conceptual and site-specific art.
PROJECTS:
Paris - France
COLONNES DE BUREN
ADDRESS:
Galerie de la Cour d'Honneur, 2 Rue de Montpensier, 75001 Paris, France
ACCESS:
FREE: In a publicly accessible courtyard
The Colonnes de Buren, officially titled Les Deux Plateaux, is an installation by Daniel Buren completed in 1986 in the courtyard of the Palais Royal in Paris. It consists of hundreds of black-and-white striped columns of varying heights arranged in a grid, extending across the historic site. Some columns rise above the ground while others descend into an underground level, creating a layered spatial experience. The work contrasts contemporary pattern with classical architecture, disrupting expectations of the formal courtyard. Initially controversial, it has since become a widely recognized public artwork, inviting interaction and movement among visitors.
DESCRIPTION:
The courtyard installation was designed to disguise vent shafts for a subterranean extension to the building. Check out the nearby Le Kiosque des Noctambules metro entry by Jean-Michel Othoniel, and the Hector Guimard metro entry right down the street.
NOTES:
IMAGE CREDITS:
Image (1-4) WROT (5) Fred Romero (6-7) Guilhem Vellut
