Cabane Eclatée: Une enveloppe peut en cacher une autre [‘Exploded Cabin: One Envelope Can Hide Another’], travail situé (réalisé au Musée Rath, Genève)
1989
Installation, 266.5 x 370 x 370 cm.
Materials: wood, canvas
Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. BK6189_M141).
Daniel Buren is an important representative of Conceptual Art in Europe. His vertical stripe pattern, invariably 8.7 centimetres wide, has been a characteristic feature of contemporary art for almost half a century. Cabane Eclatée first appears to be an open jigsaw puzzle that could be resolved, but if we look closer we realise that this is not the case: a few screws are in the way. Viewers can see the work from all angles and also walk through it, which allows them to understand space in new ways. Such spatial experience is a central theme in Buren’s works, which cannot be separated from the spaces for which they have been made and where they are shown. The next thing we notice is the grey-and-white pattern. Buren has been using these alternating white and coloured stripes since 1965, and they contribute to the experience of space that he creates. Another important objective for him is to bring painting ever closer to a degree zero of expression. This means liberating the image of all anecdotal content and leaving its material support as untouched as possible.
