Daniel Buren Underground

Edited by Eleanor Pinfield
Foreword by Mark Wild
Texts by Tamsin Dillon, Eleanor Pinfield, Hans Ulrich Obrist
Interview by Tim Marlow

This book tells the story of the first permanent art work in Britain by Daniel Buren, widely considered France’s greatest living artist and one of the pioneers of conceptual art. Commissioned by Art on the Underground, Buren has created an expansive installation within Tottenham Court Road station in central London, taking over the space with a deceptively simple combination of shapes, colours and his trademark stripes.

Published to coincide with the unveiling of the completed commission, the book includes stunning installation shots of the work in situ, behind-the-scenes photos of the project in progress, architects’ drawings and plans, and the artist’s notes and sketches. Texts by Eleanor Pinfield and Tamsin Dillon provide the background to the commission, while an essay by Hans Ulrich Obrist places the work in the context of Buren’s wider practice since the 1960s. In a conversation with Tim Marlow, the artist walks the reader through the Tottenham Court Road installation and discusses the work alongside his other transport commissions.

More than a rare monograph in English on one of the most influential international artists of recent decades, this volume also takes the reader on the fascinating journey from initial artistic concept through to realized physical form in the public realm.

Tamsin Dillon is an independent curator and the former Head of Art on the Underground.

Tim Marlow is Director of the Design Museum in London, the former Artistic Director at the Royal Academy of Arts, and a member of the Art on the Underground Advisory Panel. 

Hans Ulrich Obrist is Artistic Director of the Serpentine Gallery, London.

Eleanor Pinfield is Head of Art on the Underground.

Mark Wild is Managing Director of London Underground.