Daniel Buren
This installation presents the pieces used in the regatta-performance held on 24 January 2026 in Guanabara Bay. The action, conceived in 1975 by the conceptual artist Daniel Buren and realised by Galeria Nara Roesler, brought together eleven Optimist sailboats that set off from Marina da Glória with surfaces printed with the white and coloured vertical stripes created by the artist — the “visual tool” that runs through his entire body of work. In motion, these patterns activated Rio de Janeiro’s landscape, transforming the route between the Marina and Flamengo Beach into an open-air artistic intervention. This was the first time the project was presented in Brazil.
Following the end of the course, the materials were brought directly to the foyer of MAM Rio, where they are displayed in the order in which the boats arrived, from right to left. The installation maintains a direct link with the event at sea, highlighting the transition from functional object to artistic proposition and extending, within the museum, the experience that originated on the water.
Daniel Buren (France, 1938) is one of the leading figures in conceptual art since the 1960s. He became widely known for his use of 8.7 cm vertical stripes in contrasting colours, applied to surfaces, architectural spaces and urban interventions. He is responsible for consolidating the concept of in situ art, in which each work responds directly to the environment in which it is presented. From the 1990s onwards, he expanded his research into the use of colour, light and reflection, creating immersive environments that transform spatial perception. He has taken part in numerous editions of the Venice Biennale, receiving the Golden Lion in 1986, and remains a prominent presence on the international art scene.