True colours: artist Daniel Buren’s kaleidoscopic takeover at Paris’ Le Bristol hotel
For nearly a century, Le Bristol has been an institution along Paris’s fabled rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. From a marketing perspective though, the challenge has always been finding novel but authentic ways to keep up with the French capital’s glittering haul of palais hotels. In a very real sense, Le Bristol’s absorption into the Oetker Collection in 1978 has been a particular lifeline – the group has been an enthusiastic promoter of fashion functions, literary charity events and gastronomic celebrations that lure appreciative members of Paris’s jeunesse d’oreé.
Something of an insider’s secret has been Le Bristol’s staging of sculptural exhibitions in its manicured gardens, not least Ai Weiwei, Anish Kapoor and Xavier Veillan. To kick off the summer programme, Hicham Berrada has taken over Le Bar du Bristol with a film installation.
However, the marquee event is probably headlined by the French conceptual artist Daniel Buren who is currently staging his much anticipated return to Le Bristol in the garden right outside the 3 Michelin-starred Epicure. The occasion is a tasty appetiser to Buren’s turn at the Fondation Louis Vuitton where the 78-year old has swathed Frank Gehry’s sails with nearly 4000 pieces of coloured glass, transforming the gallery into an intoxicating sequence of billowing stained glass.
For Le Bristol’s site-specific installation, Buren is working on an altogether smaller, but no less effective, scale. ‘Une Pause Coloreé’ is exactly that – a kaleidoscopic interlude of rainbow hues folded around a sheltered walkway that is book-ended by open-toped dodecagon conservatories.
Of course, the Le Bristol work has antecedents, most notably in ‘Pergola’ for Hôtel de la Monnaie in 2009, and ‘La Pergola pour Trois Couleurs’ at Place Francois Mitterand, Joué-les-Tours. However, when staged against Le Bristol’s all-white façade and leafy greens, the effect of the coloured shades shifting through the day is singularly striking for their exuberant dappled effect.
INFORMATION
Une Pause Coloreé is on view until October.
For more information visit the Le Bristol website
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Photography courtesy of Souvenir-photo© DB-ADAGP
ADDRESS
Le Bristol
112 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
75008 Paris
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Taste Japan from the comfort of Hakuba at Cheval Blanc Paris Hôtel
New restaurant Hakuba offers an authentic omakase experience orchestrated by chef Takuya Watanabe and pastry chef Maxime Frédéric
By Nicola Leigh Stewart Published
-
Contemporary coastal design rejuvenates Hôtel de la Plage in Biarritz
Hôtel de la Plage in Biarritz resurfaces with fresh interiors by Olivier Granet and architecture studio Gardera & Pastre
By Imogen Green Published
-
Paris’ Hôtel de Crillon celebrates the art of skateboarding with a new exhibition
Hôtel de Crillon and The Skateroom anticipate skateboarding’s return at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a special collaboration
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Ridley Scott turns three French farmhouses into artful holiday villas
Ridley Scott and family transform French farmhouses into holiday lets, the latest addition to the filmmaker’s Provençal wine estate, Mas des Infermières
By Stephanie Gavan Published
-
Experience Paris like a local at Hôtel Balzac
Hôtel Balzac reopens its doors following a 1930s-inspired renovation by Festen Architecture
By Fabienne Dupuis Published
-
Hôtel Lilou in France welcomes guests into an unspoilt natural setting
The opening of Hôtel Lilou is set to revive the tourism scene of the historic French seaside town of Hyères
By Nicola Leigh Stewart Published
-
Navigator: 10 things to do in Cannes, beyond the red carpet
The French Riviera has long drawn those looking for refuge, restoration and red carpets. Whatever your reason for visiting Cannes, we reveal the highlights of a sojourn in the film capital of France
By Imogen Green Published
-
Public House brings a taste of good old London to Paris
Chef Calum Franklin opens Public House, a British-style pub and brasserie in Paris boasting interiors by Laura Gonzalez
By Nicola Leigh Stewart Published