Installation view of Daniel Buren, Daegu Art Museum, 2022
Born in 1938, Paris, France
Lives and works in Paris, France
Daniel Buren’s oeuvre over a 60-year span represents contemporary art itself. Taking the lead on the anti-modernist movement of the 1960s, Buren criticized the traditional institutions and led a movement against art museum works, expressing his dissent to the value of ‘autonomy’ pursued by modern art. He was in absolute discord with the traditional authority of modern art institutions that restrictedly reinforced purity of the medium, and thus he led the break from the museums–the modern symbol of authority. Roland Barthes, who attempted to tear down traditional authority through his essay on the death of the author, had a profound influence on the artist. Buren amplifies the value of the existence of art and its meaning through his own artistic intervention.
The representative art world of Buren is defined by a key element, the vertical stripe of 8.7cm, that alternates between white and colored. The artist considered stripe as the most neutral form of visual expression that embodies no meaning and believed that its mere presence can be seen as a work of art. (Buren actually defined the stripe as, “an artwork that cannot be told except for its presence.”) The artist, by unfolding various artistic scenes, not only overcomes the limited boundary of traditional painting genre but also reconsiders the role of contemporary artists and their production of artworks.
The intended role of stripes becomes predominant in his In-Situ works based on site-specific installations. Pursuing art practices outside the established institutions, Buren overcomes the formal limitation of stripes by setting buildings and their surrounding environments as canvas. Based on inspirations from the space, Buren externalizes its physical and relational elements. Here, the natural elements such as light, air and wind become crucial resources to bring his artworks into completion. The concept of “site” that overarches time and space holds significant meaning for the artist. The artist installs his works in person at the exhibition space and takes them apart immediately after the exhibition. The artist strongly claims that his works must form a complementary balance in relation to the space and believes that active participation of the audience enables it.
His recent solo exhibition was held in Daegu Art Museum from July 2022 until January 2023. His film ‘A Contre-temps, a Perte de Vue’ and large-scale installation ‘Comme un jeu d’enfant’ were shown in Asia for the first time. Buren has held solo exhibitions at Centre Pompidou, Paris in 2002 and a retrospective at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York in 2005. He has also participated multiple times in Kassel Documenta and the Venice Biennales, where he was awarded with the Golden Lion Award in 1986 for his exhibition at the French pavilion. His latest exhibitions include ‹Monumenta› at the Grand Palais, Paris (2012), ‹Like Child’s Play, Works On-Site› at the Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (2014), and <The Observatory of Light> at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (2016). In particular, his large scale public artwork ‹Les Deux Plateaux› at Palais Royal, Paris is regarded as the quintessence of his artistic profundity. Buren was introduced to the Korean public through the opening exhibition of Atelier Hermès in 2006, and he has participated in ‹The Poetics of Space› at the Whanki Museum the same year. In 2015, the artist held his first gallery solo exhibition in Korea titled <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works> at 313 ART PROJECT, Seoul.
다니엘 뷔렌의 지난 60년 동안의 작업 활동은 현대미술 그 자체를 대변한다. 1960년대 중반 제도 비판적 성향의 반모더니즘 운동을 주도하며 미술계에 등장한 뷔렌은 근대 미술이 추구해온 ‘자율성’의 가치에 반기를 들며 탈미술관적 작업을 전개한다. 매체가 가지는 순수성을 강조하는 모더니즘적 미술사관에 철저히 반대하였으며, 예술의 존재 가치와 그 의미를 본인만의 시각 예술적 개입을 통해 표현한다.
흰색과 원색으로 순차 구성된 8.7cm의 줄무늬는 작가와 그의 작품 세계를 정의하는 데 있어 결코 빠뜨릴 수 없는 요소이다. 그는 줄무늬를 어떠한 의미도 내재하지 않는, 가장 중성적인 형태의 시각적 표현으로 간주하였으며, 존재 그 자체가 하나의 미술품이 된다고 생각하였다 (실제 뷔렌은 줄무늬를 ‘실재하는 것 외에는 아무것도 말해질 수 없는 미술품’으로 정의한 바 있다). 작가는 여기에 기반을 둔 다양한 예술적 상황을 전개함으로써 전통 회화가 가지는 장르적 한계를 극복하는 동시에 현대 미술에서의 작가와 그의 산물인 작품의 기능에 대해 재고한다.
장소 특정적 성향을 기반으로 한 그의 인 시튜(In-Situ) 작업에서 이러한 줄무늬의 역할은 더욱 주목받는다. 제도권 밖에서의 작품 활동을 지향하는 그는 건물과 그 주변 환경을 캔버스 삼아 줄무늬의 형식적 한계를 확장한다. 그는 공간으로부터의 영감을 바탕으로 이것이 가지는 물리적, 그리고 관계적 요소를 표면화하는데, 빛, 공기, 바람과 같은 자연적 요소는 그의 작품을 완성하는 중요한 재료가 된다. 시, 공간을 포괄하는 복합 용어인 ‘현장’의 개념을 중요시하며 모든 작업이 전시가 되는 현장에서 직접 설치하고, 전시 후 바로 해체한다. 작가는 본인의 작업이 장소와의 관계에서 상호보완적 균형을 이루어야 한다고 주장하며, 적극적 관람자의 역할이 비로소 이것을 가능케 한다고 이야기한다.
최근에는 대구미술관에서 2022년 7월부터 2023년 1월까지 다니엘 뷔렌의 개인전이 진행되었다. 그가 제작한 필름 ‘A Contre-temps, a Perte de Vue’와 대형 설치 작품 ‘Comme un jeu d’enfant’이 아시아 최초로 전시되었다. 다니엘 뷔렌은 2002년 파리 퐁피두 센터, 2005년에는 뉴욕의 구겐하임 미술관에서 기념비적인 회고전을 가졌다. 10여 차례 이상 베니스 비엔날레와 카셀 도큐멘타에 참가하였으며, 특히 1986년에는 베니스 비엔날레 프랑스관 전시로 비엔날레 최고 영예인 황금사자상을 수상하기도 하였다. 그 외, 2012년 파리 그랑팔레 <모뉴멘타 (Monumenta)>, 2014년 프랑스 스트라스부르 현대미술관의 <Like Child’s Play, Works On-site>, 그리고 2016년 파리 Fondation Louis Vuitton의 <Observatory of Light> 전시 등이 있으며, 프랑스 파리 팔레 루아얄에 설치된 그의 대규모 공공 미술 작품 <두 개의 고원 (Les Deux Plateaux)>은 그의 예술적 깊이를 보여주는 진수로 평가받는다. 국내에는 2006년 아뜰리에 에르메스 개관전, 환기미술관의 <공간의 시학> 전시로 소개되었으며, 313 아트프로젝트에서 2015년 첫 번째 개인전 <Variations, Situated and In Situ works>을 가진 바 있다.
EXHIBITIONS AT 313
SELECTED IMAGES
Installation viedo of ‘Daniel Buren,’ Daegu Art Museum
Photo-souvenir: Comme un jeu d’enfant, June 2014 – July 2022, travail in situ, in ‘Daniel Buren’, Daegu Art Museum, July 12, 2022 – January 29, 2023. Detail ⓒ Daniel Buren – ADAGP Paris, Photography: Daegu Art Museum
Photo-souvenir: Comme un jeu d’enfant, June 2014 – July 2022, travail in situ, in ‘Daniel Buren’, Daegu Art Museum, July 12, 2022 – January 29, 2023. Detail ⓒ Daniel Buren – ADAGP Paris, Photography: Daegu Art Museum
Photo-souvenir: Installation view of The grid with 49 squares n.8, n.6 and n.9, travail in situ, in ‘Daniel Buren’, Daegu Art Museum, July 12, 2022 – January 29, 2023. Detail ⓒ Daniel Buren – ADAGP Paris, Photography: 313 Art Project
Les Couleurs au Matin Calme, travail in situ, Installation at Dong-A Media Center, Seoul, 2019
©DB-ADAGP Paris, Photo © Sang-Tae Kim, Courtesy of 313 Art Project
Les Couleurs au Matin Calme, travail in situ, Installation at Dong-A Media Center, Seoul, 2019
©DB-ADAGP Paris, Photo © Sang-Tae Kim, Courtesy of 313 Art Project
Installation view of <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works>, 313 Art Project, 2015
Installation view of <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works>, 313 Art Project, 2015
Installation view of <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works>, 313 Art Project, 2015
Installation view of <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works>, 313 Art Project, 2015
Installation view of <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works>, 313 Art Project, 2015
Installation view of <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works>, 313 Art Project, 2015
Installation view of <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works>, 313 Art Project, 2015
Installation view of <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works>, 313 Art Project, 2015
Installation view of <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works>, 313 Art Project, 2015
Installation view of <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works>, 313 Art Project, 2015
Installation view of <Variations, Situated and In Situ Works>, 313 Art Project, 2015
2 Right-angled prisms of triangle and rectangle base, situated work, haut-relief Seoul No.17, 2015, Wood, mirror, plexiglass, black self-adhesive vinyl, glue, 219 x 110 cm
2 Right-angled prisms of triangle and rectangle base, situated work, haut-relief Seoul No.19, 2015, Wood, mirror, plexiglass, black self-adhesive vinyl, glue, 219 x 110 cm
Installation view of Daniel Buren
