A Needle Walks into a Haystack, Claude Parent, La colline de l’art 2014. © Tate Liverpool

Claude Parent (FR) is one of the most radical figures of French avant-garde architecture, and La colline de l’art (Art Hill) is the latest demonstration of the oblique function — a principle of architecture he developed in the 1960s with theorist Paul Virilio. Defying convention, the idea proposes that buildings incorporate ramps and slopes, avoid right angles and be wall-free where possible. Within such constructions, bodies behave in new and unusual ways that heighten the senses as well as reshape interpersonal dynamics and hierarchies.

La Colline de l’Art has been specially commissioned for the Wolfson Gallery. The works from Tate’s collection, selected by Parent with Mai Abu ElDahab, emphasise his interest in exploiting geometry and his commitment to radically rethinking the tenets of his field, and include: Anni Albers (DE/US), Carlos Cruz-Diez (VZ/FR), Paul Delvaux (BE), Naum Gabo (RU/US), Mark Leckey (UK), Roy Lichtenstein (US), Babette Mangolte (FR), Gustav Metzger (DE/UK), Paul Nash (UK), Francis Picabia (FR), Helen Saunders (UK), Edward Wadsworth (UK), Gillian Wise (UK).

Architectural assistants to Claude Parent are Claire Davisseau and Blanche Granet. Special thanks to Naad Parent and Benjamin Seror.