Nunc Stans

The Hourloupe works are distinguished by networks of interlocked cells, many filled with parallel stripes, most often in red, blue, and white. This cycle was Dubuffet’s most extended; he pursued it from 1962 through the mid-1970s. While engrossed in the series, Dubuffet claimed, “Real creation begins only at this stage of homogeneous and uninterrupted production.” For the artist, the Hourloupe style’s infinite applications were matched by its capacity for endless spatial extension, specifically its ability to form compositions “without limits or center, like the high seas.” Nunc Stans demonstrates this possibility in its scale. It also suggests a complementary metaphysical interpretation. “Nunc stans” is a Latin phrase that means "standing now." In philosophy, it is used to describe an idea of eternity that exists separate from concepts of time.