Danse Élance

Danse Élance is one of a number of ground-breaking works from the series "Praticables," which Dubuffet created in the fall of 1971. Klégécell, the PVC-based plastic on which these monumental works were painted, was a relatively new material intended for industrial use and was often used in the creation of boats, due to its light weight combined with strength. The "Practicables" were a group of flat, free-floating “cutouts” in which the artist “liberated” his compositions from their backgrounds. The color scheme of blue, red, and white, alongside strong black contours, appears through the entire series. The title of the series alludes to theatrical stage sets. In fact, the artist intended the works not to hang on the wall, but rather to stand free on legs with rollers or suspended from the ceiling. At some point before 1984, when the work was included in an exhibition at Marquette University, the artwork was retrofitted to hang in a more traditional manner.