Hotfoots it to Mayfair - Mayfair Times

Savile Row may be better known for well-cut suits than for
cutting-edge art, but that looks set to change with the opening
of Hauser & Wirth at number 23.
Occupying more than 15,000sq ft, the Eric Parry
development is Hauser & Wirth’s fourth gallery in the area and
its most ambitious yet.
One of the world’s leading contemporary galleries, the
Zurich-based dealership has had a strong Mayfair presence
since first opening on Piccadilly in 2003. Hauser & Wirth
Colnaghi launched on Old Bond Street in 2006, followed soon
after by the Outdoor Sculpture at Southwood Gardens, St
James’s Church.
“Without question, this is where the gallery is most rooted,”
says London director Gregor Muir. “Mayfair has always been an
important centre for what we do and I think it’s fair to say that
“It’s a major
Bourgeois
statement and
and a stunning,
museum-quality
show”
Gregor Muir
Suited to art
when Savile Row opens, Hauser & Wirth’s presence in Mayfair
will be very clear.”
Those in any doubt of the gallery’s ambitions should look no
further than the opening show at Savile Row, which is
dedicated to the grande dame of contemporary art, Louise
Bourgeois.
The exhibition brings together 70 fabric drawings made
between 2002 and 2008, plus four large-scale sculptures.
Curated by Germano Celant, the display has travelled from the
Fondazione Vedova, Venice and was the last project Bourgeois
worked on before passing away in June 2010, aged 98.
“It’s a major Bourgeois statement and and a stunning,
museum-quality show,” says Muir. “It’s going to be glorious
and, I think, quite uplifting to see.”
The plan post-Bourgeois is to show a rotating programme
of exhibitions by gallery artists such as Martin Creed, Roni
Horn, Paul McCarthy and Wilhelm Sasnal.
“Its going to be a balancing act between the two main
spaces,” says Muir. “We can’t begin to compete with ourselves,
so it’s a matter of spreading things out and pacing the shows
across the galleries.”
As for competing with the neighbours, Muir is of the belief
that what’s good for London is “generally acknowledged to be
useful to everyone”.
“The more major attractions London has, the better it is for
us all, and I hope this falls in to that category of being a major
attraction for visiting collectors, curators and artists,” he says.
“Mayfair is continuing to grow year in, year out in terms of
art and I think the arrival of this gallery will ultimately cement
Mayfair as an art destination.”
Louise Bourgeois: The Fabric Works runs from October 15-
December 18 at Hauser & Wirth, 23 Savile Row.
www.hauserwirth.com
SAVILE ROW IS
THE PERFECT FIT
FOR HAUSER &
WIRTH’S NEW
GALLERY SPACE,
DIRECTOR
GREGOR MUIR
TELLS SOPHIE
BISHOP
ABOVE: UNTITLED, LOUISE
BOURGEOIS, 2005
© LOUISE BOURGEOIS TRUST
COURTESY HAUSER & WIRTH
PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER BURKE
LEFT: UNTITLED, LOUISE
BOURGEOIS, 2007
© LOUISE BOURGEOIS TRUST
COURTESY HAUSER & WIRTH
PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER BURKE
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art