Something a little bit different to the usual beauty, fashion and lifestyle content on Hello Freckles. I recently went along to Baltic, Gateshead (a renovated flour mill that’s now an exhibition space with a restaurant, café and great views of Gateshead and Newcastle.
I like to think I appreciate art, but there’s very few times I’ll visit exhibitions or galleries. Usually because I just don’t know what’s on display, I find out too late or anything I’m interested in is just a little too far to travel.
Daniel Buren’s installation appealed to me immediately. Anything colourful, working with light and reflections is usually my kinda thing and this one in particular is really unique. Daniel Buren is considered to be France’s greatest living artist and has been a hugely influential artist for the last 50 years.
The coloured front windows allow light to pour through and illuminate the main areas and hallways in a completely new way. Each visit is completely different, depending on the time of day and the weather. As you can probably see from the sun and the light in the gallery, we visited late afternoon, which in hindsight, probably wasn’t the best time. Ideally, I think around mid-morning to midday would be the best time for the strongest light through the windows.
On level 4, Buren has really worked with the architecture of the building again to create another immersive experience. A series of mirrors are positioned in the space to reflect and refract light from the coloured windows above the gallery. Again, depending on the time of day and the weather, the experience will differ.
I wish I’d been able to visit the exhibition again, to see how my experiences differed but I’m definitely going to be keeping an eye on Buren and seeing where he takes his unique ‘work in situ’ next!
If you get a chance to see any of his work, I’d highly recommend it. If you’ve seen the Catch As You Can: works in situ at Baltic, I’d love to know what you thought!
4 Comments
I love the Baltic and used to visit it all the time when I lived in the North East. I love the variety of exhibitions they put on and this one looks stunning. I had never heard of Daniel Buren but his work looks really interesting. I like the idea of going back at different times of the day to see how the light changes.
Yeah, it was so interesting to see, I hope there's another exhibition somewhere nearby soon – or they bring it back so I can see it again! x
Wow! These pieces are absolutely stunning!
http://www.violetdaffodils.com
xx
They really were, the reflections and all the colour was so lovely to see x