Buen is intended as a radiant welcome mounted on K.B. Hallen’s monumental raw concrete wall. Made of three arched aluminium tubes with a span of 32 metres, the light installation follows the architectural shape of the hall and is integrated into the construction. Each tube contains built-in light-emitting diodes that slowly move through the colour spectrum in a systematic pattern. During the day, the light is toned down in metallic hues, and at night the colours burst through with full intensity.
Radiant recognizability
The installation draws inspiration from the rich colour range and historical cultural symbolism of the rainbow. Its meaning may have changed over the ages, but to Collaro, the key qualities are the rainbow’s recognizable form, its colour range and the explicit connection to nature. With its radiant colours Buen is visible round the clock without overpowering the building’s architecture.
‘With this installation I aim to bring diversity of colours and movement to the K.B. Hallen lobby – a diversity signalling community, openness and sharing, matching K.B. Hallen’s role as a high-profile venue where thousands of people will come together for sporting events, concerts and other cultural experiences,’ says Viera Collaro.
Integrated into the architecture
K.B. Hallen is constructed around the concept of three architectural elements: the arc, the disc and the gable, which also defined the original building from 1938. The gable consists of a giant concrete wall stretching from the basement to the roof that is visible from both inside and outside. It is this wall that Collaro’s artistic work addresses. With great respect for the architecture the light installation is integrated into the 18-metre-tall concrete surface. It embraces the interior space of the hall and adds another dimension to the basic form and mood. The arc form signals openness and community in a perfect match with the future activities inside the hall.
Collaro drew inspiration for the colours from the old hall, which unlike the current reconstruction featured clear primary colours: blue walls, yellow ceilings and red columns. Thus, the rainbow arc references the original venue while also symbolizing a new beginning and setting the hall on a positive path for the future .
Official reopening
K.B. Hallen was officially opened on Wednesday, 5 December by HRH Crown Prince Frederik. The event also marked the unveiling of the new urban space on the square in front of the hall, designed by landscape architect Marianne Levinsen, and Viera Collaro’s artwork.
About the artist
Viera Collaro (b. 1946, Slovakia) is a painter and installation artist. She trained in the United States and in Denmark, where she has made her home since 1971. Collaro is inspired by American minimalism and by artists such as Dan Flavin and Donald Judd. She considers herself a humanistic concretist, working with nonfigurative forms but with a strong emphasis on the human aspect. Viera Collaro has been represented in several solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries in Denmark and has created a wide range of decorative projects for the public space, including commissions for the music venue VEGA in Copenhagen, the University of Southern Denmark in Odense and the music venue Atlas in Aarhus.
