Ugo Rondinone and Tarek Lakhrissi Find Poetry in Primary Colors at Reiffers Art Initiatives
‘who is afraid of red blue and yellow?’ is now on view in Paris through December 1.
Reiffers Art Initiatives in Paris presents who is afraid of red blue and yellow?, a duo show by Ugo Rondinone and Tarek Lakhrissi now on view through December 1. For the fourth edition of the institution’s mentorship program, which pairs influential artists with emerging talent, the seminal Swiss sculptor guides Lakhrissi in a resonant exploration of the human condition
Unfolding across three color-drenched rooms, the exhibition invites visitors to lose themselves in a landscape of visual poetry. Mining the passion and power of the underground, the show begins with a red-clad space with Lakhrissi’s 2017 video Hard to Love at its center. Audiences are then drawn into a contemplative, blue atmosphere where embroidered poems flood textiles on the floors and walls. The journey concludes upstairs, where Rondinone’s handless clocks and Lakhrissi’s field of glass pendulums suggest a sense of transcendence, complemented by an uneasy yellow light.
Akin to the four-part Barnett Newman series of the same name, the show reveals a profound dialogue between poetry and color, where a few hues, or a few words, evoke a world of meaning. “The starting point was to look at how these three colors were standardized, captured, and reduced,” Lakhrissi explains. “Through this show, they became an integral part of the works, allowing for the creation of worlds that are equally effective, equally precise.”
Reiffers Art Initiatives
30 Rue des Acacias,
75017 Paris, France
