The Gagosian Paris gallery in Le Bourget is hosting an exceptional exhibition that brings together Dan Flavin's *European Couples* (1966–71) series in a single venue. This marks the first opportunity in France to see all nine works together.
Flavin began working on his European Couples series in 1966, three years after he had abandoned painting and collage in favor of assembling fluorescent tubes and light fixtures. Each work is an open square measuring eight feet (244 cm) on each side, which emits fluorescent light of a single color and is installed at an angle so that the color diffuses onto adjacent surfaces. The repetition and arrangement of these works reveal Dan Flavin's penchant for series and the interplay of the artwork's influence on its surroundings. The Galerie du Bourget, a former industrial building designed by Jean Nouvel, provides an ideal architectural setting for Flavin?s exploration of the effects of fluorescent light.
Each work is named after a couple close to the artist: Friedrich and his partner at the time, Thordis Moeller, or the Swiss art dealer Bruno Bischofberger and his wife Christina. The nine works that make up the collection are on loan from the estate of Dan Flavin and the collection of Heiner Friedrich.
Alongside European Couples, a series of six works dating from 1963 and 1964 — untitled (for Charlotte and Jim Brooks) 1 through 6 — is on view. Each work combines a 244-cm blue fluorescent tube with a 61-cm fluorescent tube in pink, red, yellow, blue, or ultraviolet. The six pieces are arranged in a line more than 15 meters long. These works pay homage to American Abstract Expressionist painters who were friends of Flavin.
Two paintings by the German Expressionist painter Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938) add an additional historical dimension to the exhibition: the landscape, Hohe Kiefern vor Hügellandschaft (Tall Pines Before a Hilly Landscape, 1921–23), and Nachtfrau (Frau geht über nächtliche Straße) (Woman at Night [Woman Walking Down a Street at Night], 1928), a nocturnal urban scene inspired by the electrification of Berlin in the early 20th century. Their inclusion in this exhibition stems from a conversation, one that Friedrich recalls with great emotion, during which Flavin expressed his deep admiration for Kirchner. Together, Flavin and Kirchner revealed the very essence of light and color, demonstrating how they can transcend the medium, reconfigure space, and alter perception.
Opening reception for European Couples on Sunday, October 18, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Image: Dan Flavin, untitled (to Christina and Bruno), 1966–71, yellow fluorescent light, 244 × 244 cm, edition 2/5 © 2026 Stephen Flavin/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Franz Kimmel
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Getting there
Le Bourget puis bus 152
Gratuit 
