lee ufan's arles museum investigates global loss of night in exhibition by djabril boukhenaïssi

Lee Ufan Arles and Maison Guerlain present À ténèbres exhibition

Legendary Korean artist Lee Ufan’s museum in Arles, France, in collaboration with Maison Guerlain, presents À ténèbres, an exhibition by Djabril Boukhenaïssi, the 2023 Art & Environment Prize winner. Running at Espace MA until September 1, 2024, the show investigates the global decline of the night due to light pollution. It features new paintings and prints inspired by the theme of contemporary night and its fading presence, drawing from German literature, music, and Boukhenaïssi’s residency in Arles. The title, an old mid-19th-century term for ‘nightfall,’ symbolizes the cultural and artistic loss linked to the vanishing of night. The artwork includes motifs such as moths, fireworks as stand-ins for stars, and fantastical figures under light halos, subtly evoking the essence of night.

all images by David Giancatarina, unless stated otherwise

Djabril Boukhenaïssi’s Exploration of Night in the Modern World

In 2023, Lee Ufan’s Arles-based museum and Parisian perfume house Maison Guerlain joined forces to create the Art & Environment Prize, an annual award that includes a residency and exhibition for a project that focuses on the fruitful and multifaceted relationship between artistic creation and the environment. Selected from 381 entries by a jury chaired by Lee Ufan and made up of leading art world figures, the painter and engraver Djabril Boukhenaïssi was given eight weeks to reflect and create in the ancient city of Arles.

During his residency, the French artist explored the global loss of night due to light pollution, as highlighted in a January 2023 Science magazine article. His work examines the symbolic and metaphorical effects of this loss, questioning how we can craft night poetry without true darkness. His long-term project began with engravings inspired by Novalis’s Hymns to the Night and Rainer Maria Rilke’s Poems to the Night. The exhibition critiques how artificial light stifles poetic imagination and changes language rooted in darkness. Boukhenaïssi contrasts the control of artificial light with the mystery of night, developing a ‘fantastic grammar’ in his art. His pieces reflect on how modern ‘white light’ erases natural landmarks and dreams, noting that two-thirds of people now live without visible stars. Referencing Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Boukhenaïssi questions whether today’s illuminated world would inspire such creativity. Using the moth, drawn to artificial light, as a symbol of life’s transience and dreams’ fragility, his work invites us to reconnect with the night and its poetic possibilities. His time in Arles, including the Alyscamps, influenced his compositions, integrating local architectural fragments.

installation view of the À ténèbres exhibition

Residency-Driven blend of Engraving and Painting works

From January 10 to February 29, 2024, Boukhenaïssi worked in a large studio opposite Lee Ufan Arles, covering the walls with drawings, sketches, engravings, and essays. He studied the work of Korean artist Lee Ufan, drawing influence from Odilon Redon’s use of pastels and Caspar David Friedrich’s horizontal compositions. In engraving, Charles Meryon’s historic Paris etchings resonated with Boukhenaïssi’s efforts to capture the essence of erosion. After sketching, Boukhenaïssi created large canvases before turning to printmaking, producing a body of work that reflects his artistic journey and contemporary exploration of the night.

For the first time, Boukhenaïssi merges engraving and painting in a single exhibition. He alternates between canvases enhanced with pastels and etchings, inviting viewers to explore the final nocturnal shadows. This innovation was made possible by his residency in Arles, where all the works were created. The resulting paintings and prints form a cohesive collection, featuring recurring motifs such as the violet night, nocturnal moths, and the Alyscamps site. Boukhenaïssi blends historical nocturnal imagery with scientific observations, creating a dynamic interplay in his works. His nights, depicted in pale tones, a transition between day and night, using glazed oil paint with pastel for an ethereal effect. His engravings, mainly in black and white, contrast ink tones with paper white, with one colored piece presenting a technical challenge.

Boukhenaïssi contrasts the control of artificial light with the mystery of the night

the work examines the symbolic and metaphorical effects of night loss

the paintings and prints form a cohesive collection, featuring recurring motifs such as the violet night

for the first time, Boukhenaïssi merges engraving and painting in a single exhibition

the engravings mainly feature black and white tones | image courtesy of Djabril Boukhenaïssi

the pieces reflect how modern ‘white light’ erases natural landmarks and dreams

Boukhenaïssi blends historical nocturnal imagery with scientific observations | image courtesy of Djabril Boukhenaïssi

the works are on view until September 1st, 2024

Djabril Boukhenaïssi’s works were compelted during his time in Arles

pale tones compose the paintings by Djabril Boukhenaïssi

the exhibition takes place at Espace MA on the second floor of Lee Ufan Arles

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portrait of Djabril Boukhenaïssi | image © Amélie Blanc

image courtesy of Djabril Boukhenaïssi

project info:

name: À ténèbres
artist: Djabril Boukhenaïssi | @djabril.boukhenaissi
location: Lee Ufans Arles | @leeufanarles
dates: July 1st – September 1st, 2024