Colors as if it were raining on the pillars of a sun-drenched temple. On the occasion of the Paris contemporary art fair that opens on Wednesday, the artist Daniel Buren, known for his white and black columns on the Place du Palais Royal, has transformed the Palais d'Iéna. The building, located near the Trocadero, was a public works museum from 1939 to 1955 and now houses the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, the third assembly of the Republic.
Daniel Buren has transformed his twenty or so gigantic bay windows into multicoloured stained-glass windows, one of his favourite motifs. Flooded with sunshine on Tuesday, the colours are projected on the huge interior pillars of a monumental space reminiscent of a temple, in which the visitor walks. The choice was to use the series of windows that illuminate it in this magnificent room. The sun is on my side and it's 100 percent of the work," the 85-year-old artist told AFP as he saw the result.
The central space was entrusted to another artist, the Italian Michelangelo Pistoletto, who installed a series of white boxes, enclosing, like large open books, mirrors reflecting one in the other. The two artists "have in common a relationship with time and space, playing with the viewer as an activator and an integral part of the work," explains Matthieu Lepoirier, art historian and curator of the event, who wanted to bring them together on the occasion of the modern and contemporary art fair Paris + by Art Basel. "At a time when everyone's eyes are glued to a computer or phone screen, I think it's essential to offer something that can only be approached through a walk," he adds.
The modern and contemporary art fair, Paris + by Art Basel, a Swiss giant in the sector that took over the event in 2022, is being held at the ephemeral Grand Palais from Wednesday, pending the completion of the restoration work of the Grand Palais in 2024, and from Friday to Sunday for the general public. More than 150 galleries from around thirty countries will be present.