Les Anneaux, Installation artwork on Quai des Antilles, île de Nantes, France
Les Anneaux is an artwork comprising eighteen steel rings arranged in a linear sequence along the Loire River, with each ring measuring four meters in diameter. The installation features color-changing LED lights that illuminate the rings at night, creating shifting visual effects.
The installation emerged as part of the 2007 transformation of the former shipyards on Île de Nantes. It connects to the maritime past of this area, which once served as an active port facility.
Created by Daniel Buren and Patrick Bouchain, the installation displays the artist's characteristic vertical stripes that have marked his work since the 1960s. Visitors immediately notice these striped patterns on the steel rings, which serve as Buren's visual signature across his artistic practice.
The rings are easily accessible and sit directly on Quai des Antilles, with entry points from multiple directions along the river. The Navibus river service connects both banks of the Loire, making it simple to explore the surrounding area.
Each ring acts as a frame through which visitors view the river landscape and surroundings from a different perspective. This framing device encourages people to pause and really see the Loire and the island's features in a way they might otherwise overlook.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
