Work for CC Strombeek

2016 Cultural Centre Strombeek, Brussels BE

Part of the exhibition A Tiger Cannot Change Its Stripes by Daniel Buren

From Space to Color

The 2016 exhibition at the CC Strombeek in Brussels gave an opportunity to do a specific research on the consequence of the use of color to the identity of a work of art. Within a single work, three experiments were made by altering the work twice over the course of several months. The space provided was slightly problematic as an exhibition space: a large, low-ceilinged basement room with pillars and walls that were neither straight nor regular. However, the space had been painted in a neutral exhibition white.

The starting point for the work, and the first version, was to place an object within this space, in the form of a so-called neat exhibition space itself. This space had four walls and three entrances, nothing else. However, the entire work was painted bright yellow, so that its identity as an object was strongly highlighted. The situation was very stark: a clear and visibly minimal image/artwork in the form of a simple yellow space, which was, of course, also a commentary on the idea of the exhibition space itself. 

In the second version of the work, large white monochrome rectangles were applied to the walls of the yellow work. These forms immediately altered the image. They implied a form of meaning (windows/passages/paintings) and thereby made the object more architectural. It immediately became less clear whether the built space was still only a work of art. 

In the third version, the attempt was to make the work disappear completely. The built space was painted white, and a lot of different yellow painted rectangle forms were applied to all the walls, including those of the space itself. The built artwork thus blended completely into the space. All that remained was a spatial exhibition of yellow monochrome paintings through which you could move freely.