I’m sure all of Artlyst’s regular readers know how much we love an exhibition that thinks outside the box, when it comes to displaying art in unusual settings. In the past, we have written about shows in underground car-parks, under river bunkers and decommissioned police stations and HM Prisons. Well, here is another one added to our top list. Seasoned Collector Frank Cohen has collaborated with the Fortnum & Mason emporium to present a pop-up, takeover art event, which sees the Piccadilly store transformed into the temporary home of some of the most illustrious names in British art. Scattered around the store are more than 60 works by artists including Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff, Bomberg, William Scott, Bridget Riley, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Charming Baker, Tracey Emin, Howard Hodgkin, John Hoyland, Paula Rego, William Roberts and Stuart Pearson Wright.
Painting John Hoyland
Fortnum’s X Frank, 13 September 2016 – 15 October 2016, has been curated as a provocative art installation with works on view from the award-winning windows facing the Royal Academy to the wine bar, shop floor and through to the boardroom. This unique month-long collaboration takes place as the art establishment from across the world descends on London for the internationally buzzy Frieze Art Fair and continues Fortnum’s long history of supporting art and artists. Through its connections with the Royal College of Art, the Slade School of Art and the Bloomsbury Group, Fortnum’s has supported generations of artists and designers.
Front windows Fortnum & Mason
Manchester born, Frank Cohen is one of the world’s most highly respected collectors of Modern British art. He began collecting in the 1970s, and in the early 1990s became a patron and supporter of the Young British Artists (YBAs). An exhibition of his private collection was held at Chatsworth in 2012 and he was a member of the Tate’s Turner Prize Jury in 2003. In 2013 he established the Dairy Art Centre in Bloomsbury, an acclaimed new public space for contemporary art.
Jake & Dinos Chapman in the crypt @ Fortnum & Mason
The show will be Curated by Robert Upstone, former Director of Modern British Art at the Fine Art Society, which he joined in 2010 from Tate Britain where he was Curator of Modern British Art.
Ewan Venters, Fortnum’s CEO, said: “Across every inch of our store we always aim to captivate our customers and at a time when the contemporary art world is looking to London, we can think of no better way of doing just that than with this innovative collaboration with Frank. Fortnum’s has a long history of supporting art and artists, and we’re thrilled to be continuing that tradition in such a fashion.”
Tracey Emin neon ‘I Know’
Frank Cohen said: “I am delighted to be collaborating with Fortnum’s on this exciting project. I am very pleased that new audiences will have the opportunity to see works from my collection in such a wonderful setting.”
At The Checkout F&M withLeon Kossoff
This is a very public display of museum quality work by some of the great names in British art. It is also fun to see the reaction of patrons of this well-established department store, who may glance up and see something wonderful, out of context to change the course of their day.
Above Photo: L to R Charming Baker, Frank Cohen, Jake Chapman, Stuart Pearson Wright © P C Robinson Artlyst 2016 All other photos © artlyst 2016