Barbara Kasten's Site Lines installation transforms De La Warr Pavilion with light and reflection

Barbara Kasten's installation Site Lines occupies the entire ground floor of the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea through 8 September. The exhibition features sculptural works that engage with the modernist architecture designed by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff. Four similar sculptures composed of rectangular plexiglass structures in yellow, blue, and red lean against the building's floor-to-ceiling windows facing the sea. These forms evoke minimalist influences while maintaining a playful quality. Additional freestanding structures with curved reflective plastic in carmine and lilac create distorted mirror effects that alter viewer reflections. Light from the South Coast and Channel waters causes continuous color and line mutations throughout the day. Reflections highlight architectural elements like the building's central stairwell, producing dynamic visual patterns. Kasten's work connects to Bauhaus photographer Moholy-Nagy's experiments with photograms and plexiglass. The Chicago-born artist, now in her late-eighties, explores perception through constructions that appear minimally connected. Her installation emphasizes the impermanent nature of visible reality while engaging with the Pavilion's Weimar-era influences.