Dezeen Magazine

Krijn de Koning builds colourful architectural structures at Turner Contemporary

Dutch artist Krijn de Koning has created a labyrinthine walkway between brightly coloured walls on a terrace at the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate, England (+ slideshow).

Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary

The first public commission in England by De Koning, the Dwelling installation comprises a series of angled walls punctured with doorways and windows that create a trail for visitors to navigate through.

Situated on the south terrace of the David Chipperfield-designed Turner Contemporary, the walls are positioned between the exterior of the gallery building and the site boundary.

Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary

The elements slot between existing structures, incorporating changes in floor level and abutting permanent concrete balustrades.

Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary

"The artist's site-specific works – part architecture, part sculpture – challenge the viewer, offering new possibilities to navigate and experience the space the works inhabit," said a statement from the gallery.

Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary

Perpendicular surfaces, including door and window recesses, are all painted in different colours.

Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary

The bright tones reference traditional seaside pavilions and beach huts, a common feature along the UK coast.

Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary

The maze is open to the sky so shadows move across the surfaces of installation through the day.

Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary

Architectural features including windows and doors are different sizes and positioned at various heights, allowing some to be clambered over or crawled beneath.

Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary

Dwelling is open until 2 November and forms part of the gallery's Summer of Colour festival.

Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary

The installation will also been partially replicated within a Victorian grotto on the seafront of the nearby town of Folkestone, opening on 30 August.

"Half of the sculpture at Folkestone replicates half of the sculpture at Turner Contemporary," said the gallery. "However, this part will be constructed to appear as though it is inserted into the cave walls, seeming partly buried within them and only partially visible as a result."

Krijn de Koning at Turner Contemporary

The Turner Contemporary opened on Margate's seafront in 2011, housed in six identical volumes with an acid-etched glass skin.

Photography is by Thierry Bal.