100 colors lab
Observe.
Collect.
Construct.
Understanding the world through color.
A research and educational platform founded by Emmanuelle Moureaux.
WHAT IS 100 COLORS LAB?
100 colors lab is a methodology for understanding the world through color.
Although we are surrounded by millions of colors, we often perceive them through a limited vocabulary: red, blue, yellow and green.
100 colors lab begins by looking more closely at the colors that already exist around us. By observing subtle differences, we become aware of the richness, diversity and beauty of color that often goes unnoticed.
The goal is not simply to identify colors, but to become more aware of them.
Through observation, collection, comparison, classification, sequencing and construction, color becomes a means of perceiving, thinking and creating — a way of seeing and understanding the world.
THEORY
DISCOVERY ↔ CONSTRUCTION
DISCOVERY
Reading the world through color.
Observing, collecting, comparing and classifying colors found in everyday environments.
↔
CONSTRUCTION
Creating the world through color.
Imagining, sequencing and constructing chromatic systems that become spatial experiences.
A continuous methodology that transforms observation into spatial experience through color.
METHOD
The method moves between two complementary actions:
expanding perception and refining perception.
OBSERVE
↓
COLLECT
↓
COMPARE
↓
CLASSIFY
↓
SEQUENCE
↓
CONSTRUCT
↓
ARCHIVE
Participants begin by observing colors in their surroundings and collecting examples from everyday life. Through repeated observation, they discover countless subtle variations that often go unnoticed.
Observation and collection expand perception, revealing the infinite diversity of color.
The collected colors are then compared, classified and sequenced. Through this process, relationships between colors emerge, and perception is gradually refined into a more precise understanding of color.
Colors are then constructed into visual and spatial experiences. The process is archived, allowing observation, comparison and creation to continue over time.
Moving between expanding and refining perception develops both analytical thinking and visual sensitivity, and ultimately a deeper relationship with color through direct experience.
PRACTICES
Three complementary practices explore color from observation to construction.
01
COLOR OBSERVATION
Observing and collecting colors from the world, recording their context, comparing their differences and developing a more precise awareness of color.
02
1000 COLORS INSTALLATIONS
Transforming the full spectrum of collected colors into a large-scale chromatic field and spatial experience.
03
100 COLORS OBJECT PALETTES
Creating one hundred distinct colors, designing their sequence and translating the resulting chromatic system into objects and space.
FOUNDER
100 colors lab was founded by artist and architect Emmanuelle Moureaux.
Born in France and based in Tokyo since 1996,
Moureaux is internationally known for her exploration
of color as a medium for creating space.
She developed the concept of "shikiri" —
creating space through layers of color.
For more than two decades, she has observed, collected, classified, and composed colors found in cities, landscapes, objects, light, and everyday life.
The same approach forms the foundation of 100 colors lab.
Originally developed as an educational project at Tohoku University of Art & Design, 100 colors lab has evolved into an ongoing platform for research, exhibitions, workshops, and creative exploration dedicated to the observation and exploration of color.
Through observation,
colors become more than visual information.
They become a way of experiencing the world.
100 colors no.18 “Forest of Numbers”, The National Art Center, Tokyo, 2017.