Beyond Limits over the last ten years, Sotheby’s has firmly established itself as one of the most prestigious platforms for the display and sale of modern and contemporary outdoor sculpture, and a key event in the art world calendar. The show brings together works by leading pioneers in this field, all situated in the historic garden of one of Europe’s greatest country estates, the ancestral seat of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.
At the heart of this year’s exhibition will be Zaha Hadid’s sculpturally stunning Lilas pavilion, created for the Serpentine summer party in 2007 – the most architecturally ambitious installation to be presented at Chatsworth to date. Chatsworth’s own Art Out Loud festival (23- 25 September), will feature Patrik Schumacher, the principal of Zaha Hadid Architects, in conversation the New York Times’ Farah Nayeri, placing Lilas within Hadid’s wider oeuvre.
Simon Stock, Sotheby’s Senior International Specialist and curator of the exhibition, commented: “For each of our annual Beyond Limits shows we seek to bring something new and thrilling to the experience, and the resurrection of Zaha Hadid’s seminal Lilas pavilion in such a historic location is one of the highlights this year. The public display of this remarkable structure, which has travelled from a Royal Park to the gardens of a stately home, is also a fitting tribute to such a pioneer in her field. Hadid’s pavilion is offset by the stunning grounds of Chatsworth, along with works by renowned classic sculptors such as Aristide Maillol, together with newer international names. We are delighted to be bringing an installation by Bruce Munro to the Canal Pond, a historic stretch of water that we haven’t used since our inaugural exhibition over ten years ago.”
This year’s exhibition celebrates the legacy and creative spirit of the late visionary architect Zaha Hadid. Dubbed ‘Queen of the Curve’, Hadid transformed the landscape of modern architecture, with highly expressive, sweeping forms. In the summer of 2000, Hadid was the architect behind the inaugural Serpentine Pavilion, created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Serpentine Gallery. Almost by accident, this sparked an iconic annual project that brings some of the world’s leading architects and their innovative designs to Hyde Park.
The poetic and futuristic Lilas was a temporary commission for the Serpentine’s summer party in 2007 – a sculpturally stunning open air space with calligraphic arcs rising to 5.5 metres in height. The work is an imaginative fusion of technology and organic form, taking inspiration from complex natural geometries, such as flower petals and plants, all interweaving without touching – allowing air, light and sound to travel through. The pavilion’s sculptural form accommodates interaction and movement; in the day it can provide shade to passers-by, whilst at night it becomes a source of illumination.
Crossing the divides of art, architectural design and functionality, works by Zaha Hadid have been exhibited at Beyond Limits on two previous occasions and Lilas will be the most ambitious architectural installation at Chatsworth to date.