Phyllida Barlow's Sculptures Inaugurate Recently Renovated Hauser & Wirth Somerset

Installation view, 'Phyllida Barlow. GIG', Hauser & Wirth Somerset, 2014

Phyllida Barlow's Sculptures Inaugurate Recently Renovated Hauser & Wirth Somerset

15 July - 2 November '14

Hauser & Wirth Somerset has opened to the public with a solo exhibition of site-specific sculptures by Phyllida Barlow.

Hauser & Wirth was granted planning permission and Listed Building Consent to allow for each of the farm buildings at Durslade to be sensitively renovated by architectural firm Laplace & Co., whose senior partner, Luis Laplace, has worked closely with the gallery and artists on many previous projects and worked on this project with benjamin + beauchamp architects who have developed the programme of renovations and restoration.

Durslade Farm was originally built as a 'Model Farm' with unique architectural details adorning the buildings, some of which date from as early as c. 1760. However, for many years, the farm buildings were left vacant and fell into disrepair. At the heart of the project is the desire to restore and conserve these buildings for future generations.

Under the plans developed by Laplace & Co., the former stables and workshops form a reading room, library, education space and office. The farmhouse has been renovated for guests, including artists installing changing exhibitions at the gallery. The cowsheds are converted into a restaurant, visitors' entrance and bookshop, and the barns have become three gallery spaces. Laplace & Co. also developed two new gallery buildings, designed to sit sensitively in scale behind the barns and cowsheds.

Hauser & Wirth is well known for its sympathetic approach to restoring historic buildings and giving them a new lease of life as contemporary art spaces: from the former Löwenbräu brewery building which became Hauser & Wirth Zürich in 1996 and the Lutyens-designed former bank that, in 2003, became Hauser & Wirth's Piccadilly gallery, to the location of the former Roxy skating rink, which opened as the gallery's second New York space in 2013.

Piet Oudolf, the internationally renowned landscape designer from the Netherlands, has designed the landscaping scheme for the entire Durslade site, including a large perennial meadow to the
north of the farmyard and new gallery buildings.

Carefully shaped and planted, this meadow garden echos the tradition of classical gardens, but the variety of species and combination of plants create a looseness, softening the formality of its appearance. Wide canopied trees are planted between the gallery and garden to frame the view of the garden for visitors as they leave the gallery. The surrounding hedges provide a sense of enclosure, whilst the views of the hills and fields beyond remain visible. A series of paths cut through the vegetation, inviting visitors to wander through the garden. Oudolf's landscaping design continues around the buildings including the inner cloister courtyard where the old buildings meet the new.

Hauser & Wirth Somerset Architectural Images Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Hélène Binet

Installation view, 'Phyllida Barlow. GIG', Hauser & Wirth Somerset, 2014 © Phyllida Barlow. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Alex Delfanne