Hauser & Wirth

Hauser & Wirth

Hauser & Wirth is an internationally acclaimed gallery of contemporary art and modern masters, founded in Zurich in 1992 by Iwan Wirth, Manuela Wirth and Ursula Hauser. In 1996 the gallery’s first permanent location, Hauser & Wirth Zürich, opened in the former Löwenbräu brewery building, along with other contemporary art galleries, the Kunsthalle Zürich, and the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst Zürich.

Hauser & Wirth opened its first London gallery on Piccadilly in 2003 with a major installation by Los Angeles-based artist Paul McCarthy and, in 2010, the gallery opened a second permanent space on London’s Savile Row. The Savile Row gallery’s inaugural exhibition was the critically acclaimed ‘Louise Bourgeois: The Fabric Works’ curated by Germano Celant.

In 2006 Hauser & Wirth opened a new space at the historic premises of 15 Old Bond Street, shared with the UK's leading old master dealer, Colnaghi. The gallery hosted two to three major twentieth century and contemporary shows each year, including exhibitions of works by Louise Bourgeois, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Subodh Gupta, Henry Moore and Francis Picabia, before the space closed in 2010. Hauser & Wirth also opened an enormous temporary project space in London's East End in 2005. Hauser & Wirth Coppermill showed exhibitions by Martin Kippenberger and Dieter and Björn Roth, Christoph Büchel and Martin Creed before it closed in July 2007.

In September 2009, the gallery inaugurated its outdoor sculpture programme in Southwood Garden, St James’s Church, London, with an exhibition by Swiss artist, Josephsohn. Also in September, Hauser & Wirth opened its long-awaited New York gallery in the Upper East Side of Manhattan with ‘Allan Kaprow. Yard’, an Environment first made in 1961 by Allan Kaprow, the American artist known as the inventor of 'Happenings.'

In September 2010, Hauser & Wirth re-located their Zurich space to a temporary location at Hubertus Exhibitions while the Löwenbräu building was undergoing major renovation (Hauser & Wirth Zürich returned to the Löwenbräu in June 2012 with an exhibition of works by Hans Arp, a founding member of the Dada movement in Zurich).

In October 2010, Hauser & Wirth London opened their new gallery, designed by Selldorf Architects, at 23 Savile Row with the exhibition, 'Louise Bourgeois: The Fabric Works'. The new gallery offers 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) of exhibition space and an additional 7,000 square feet (650 m2) on the first floor for new offices and an extensive library and archive. In 2013, Hauser & Wirth will open their second New York gallery at 511 West 18th Street, in what used to be the Roxy.

In addition to its status as a major international gallery, Hauser & Wirth has also partnered with major publishing companies to produce such noteworthy publications as the stunning Louise Bourgeois artist book, 'Nothing to Remember' (2009); Berlinde De Bruyckere's 'Schmerzenmann' (2006); and 'Maria Lassnig. The Pen is the Sister of the Brush' (2009). Recent publications include 'Hans Arp. Ovi Bimba', 'Roni Horn. Selected Drawings 1984 – 2012’, 'Guillermo Kuitca No Tomorrow', and 'Jason Rhoades. The Big Picture'.

In December 2012 plans were announced to open a new gallery and arts centre at a derelict farm on the outskirts on Bruton, Somerset.

Read more about Hauser & Wirth:  Artists, Press