Seeing stripes: Daniel Buren shows ten early works at New York’s Nahmad Contemporary

Visitors to Nahmad Contemporary this month will be seeing stripes – and lots of them – as the gallery presents 'Origin of Stripes: Paintings from 1965–1966', a collection of paintings by artist Daniel Buren.
Featuring ten early works by the French artist, the show marks the first display of some of the pieces in the United States – works that illustrate the evolution of the artist’s distinctly colourful practice.
Widely known for his site-specific installations, Buren here shares his painterly origins, the artist’s handmade stripes of enamel paint pulled along cotton canvas bedsheets.
The pieces depict the clear lineage of the artist’s later works – large-scale installations that play with bright, contrasting coloured stripes applied to surfaces and spaces. These formative works paved the way for much of the artist’s later practice, and show the visual foundation of a career that spans over 50 years.
With each of the ten paintings on display, the artist’s hand slowly disappears, visualising Buren’s creative progression. Irregular, meandering lines become standardised vertical bands as he moves from hand-painted stripes to mass-produced textiles, eventually abandoning the canvas entirely.
In the exhibition's final pieces, even the medium of paint itself is sequestered to the edges, as Buren fully adopts the mechanical perfection of machine-made stripes – a foreshadowing of what was to come.
Featuring ten early works by the French artist, the show marks the first display of the pieces in the United States. Pictured: Photo-souvenir: Variable Forms Painting, 1966
Buren here shares his painterly origins, the artist’s handmade stripes of enamel paint pulled along cotton canvas bedsheets. Pictured: Photo-souvenir, enamel paint on cotton canvas, 1965
These formative works paved the way for much of the artist’s later practice, and show the visual foundation of a career that spans over 50 years. Pictured: Photo-souvenir, enamel paint on cotton canvas, 1965
With each of the ten paintings on display, the artist’s hand slowly disappears, visualising Buren’s creative progression. Pictured: Photo-souvenir, enamel paint on canvas, 1965
NFORMATION
’Origin of Stripes: Paintings from 1965–1966’ is on view until 22 October. For more information, visit the Nahmad Contemporary website
Photography courtesy the artist and Bortolami
ADDRESS
Nahmad Contemporary
980 Madison Avenue, Third Floor
New York, NY 10075
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Fluid workspaces: is the era of prescriptive office design over?
We discuss evolving workspaces and track the shape-shifting interiors of the 21st century. If options are what we’re after in office design, it looks like we’ve got them
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This collection of slow furniture is a powerful ode to time
A serene exhibition of David Dolcini's 'Time-made' collection has fast-tracked its place into our hearts and homes
By Ifeoluwa Adedeji Published
-
Is the Pragma P1 the most sustainable watch yet?
Geneva-based brand Pragma combines industrial design with real sustainable credentials
By Hannah Silver Published