1000 Placements

Buren’s project, like all his other works from 1965 to the present, involves his signature 8.7 cm wide stripe, a pattern he found in 1965 (a bolt of striped awning fabric). The specificity of the stripes is not meant to be read as content but as a visual tool. Over the years, Buren has created interventions using these stripes in, on, and out of various materials. These interventions only work when they are “in situ” as the materials have to interact with the space in which they are placed, with the interaction itself resulting in the work. For the Rubber Stamp Portfolio, Buren used the guidelines of an 8 x 8 inches (20.32 x 20.32 cm) piece of paper. To create the continuity of his 8.7 cm stripe, he needed to create six different variants. Furthermore, he took those 6 different variants and printed them all in four different colors (blue, green, red, and yellow). On the back of each from the edition of 1000, is instructions of the works particular placement on a wall, which is guided by color, which of six variant “images” it is, and edition number. In the current exhibition, examples of all four colors are exhibited, all installed per the artist’s instructions. For further information, view the additional image for each example.