Serene Wise

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Paris paintings, Homage to Daniel Buren Series

Monday 31 December 2012 to Monday 14 January 2013

by Serene Wise

My series of paintings, Homage to Daniel Buren/Un hommage à Daniel Buren, began in Paris in 2011 while I was an artist-in-residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts. In Paris I studied the works of Daniel Buren, the French artist (1938 -). 

Serene Wise exhibition

Image 1- oil on canvas on six (6) panel
homage to Daniel Buren, les tri-couleurs/2011
maquettes
each panel - 12 x 12in./30.5 x 30.5cm.
total size - 12 x 72in/30.5 x 183cm.

Buren always uses 8.7 centimetre bands at 90° - straight up and down. I began my homage with his 8.7 centimetre bands which, after much experimentation, I placed at 78°. The numbers are amusing: 8.7 centimetres @ 78°. 

Materially, my paintings differ from Buren’s paintings in three ways: Buren paints on linen (common practice in France), I paint on heavy cotton canvas; he stretches his paintings while I mount my canvas on masonite panel; he uses acrylic, I use oil. His underpainting is always in white; I found that red worked best for my series. 

Serene Wise Blue and black, Chelsea gallery exhibition

Image 2 - oil on canvas on four (4) panel
homage to Daniel Buren
schematic/2011
each panel - 18 x 18in./45.7x 45.7cm
total size - 18 x 72in/45.7 x 183cm.

I introduced very thin insets or outlines between white bands; Buren consistently uses only one band width - 8.7 centimetres - no insets, no outlines. The thin insets allow me to manipulate rhythm changes with white bands. I also experimented using two colors plus white per composition and I placed colored bands next to each other. I am especially interested in making new rhythms or patterns with white bands of different textures. 

Serene Wise Red and black, Chelsea gallery exhibition

Image 3 - oil on canvas on three (3) panel
homage to Daniel Buren
schematic /2012
each panel - 24 x 24in./61 x 61cm
total size - 24 x 72in./61 x 183cm.

Serene Wise, a painter, studied art and design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Michigan. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison (B.A.), the University of Chicago (M.A.) and the University of Michigan (M.U.P., Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning).

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Exhibition is open for public view on:

  • Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9.30am to 8pm
  • Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9.30am to 5pm
  • Sunday, 1 to 5pm

Details

  • Chelsea Library, Old Town Hall
    Kings Road,
    London SW3 5EZ

Last updated: 29 November 2019