LE BON MARCHÉ

DANIEL BUREN EMBELLISHES

THE LEGENDARY

DEPARTMENT STORE

Daniel Buren was the ninth artist to take part in the

creative collaboration conducted every January by

Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche as a tribute to the Mois du

Blanc event initiated by the department store’s found-

ers, Aristide and Marguerite Boucicaut, in January 1872.

As part of this collaboration, Buren created Aux Beaux

Carrés: Travaux in situ, an exhibition in two acts,

inspired by the panes that make up the store’s famous

glass roof. True to his principle of working in situ (on site),

Buren’s creative process takes place within the space

where his works will ultimately be exhibited. His metic-

ulous, minimalistic approach explores the relationship

between art and space, revealing all the specific fea-

tures of the surroundings and translating them into the

artwork. Following his work at the Palais-Royal, the

Élysée Palace and the Palais d’Iéna, the French artist

transformed 24 rue de Sèvres with monumental instal-

lations under the central glass roof, on the second floor

and in its majestic display windows facing the bustling

Parisian street. As the final touch, Le Bon Marché’s

central escalator and columns were embellished with

his signature black and white stripes: an artistic tour

de force, with his pieces all coming together in an

interplay of shapes, movements, colors and light.