Architecture of Display
It was in 1999 that Pierre Jorge Gonzalez –scenographer – and Judith Haase –architect – opened their architectural firm in Berlin and Paris. The experience of working with Richard Gluckman and Robert Wilson in New York opened up the first opportunities to consider ways of presenting art through architecture.
AAS stands for Atelier Architecture and Scenography. The combination of these two disciplines results in a rare theatrical blend: the spaces that Gonzalez and Haase design are narrative, performative and playful. Often hosting art or fashion, they work as a backdrop for objects to be revealed. Walls and floors are treated with equal care, connected by bespoke large bodies of furniture moulded by artificial light. The furniture spreads throughout the rooms, twisting around walls, emerging from the floors or disappearing under the windows: guiding the visitor through space, they sometimes show, sometimes hide. There’s an inherent sense of flexibility: the height of the vitrines and cabinets is perfect for seating, the furniture dissolves towards the windows to become a display set, the counter extends through the space to show books or to become a table for drinks in the private views. There’s a character to the spaces of AAS that is not very common in the aseptic world of art galleries and it contaminates the objects displayed……
Full feature in Issue 24 Autumn 2011 click here
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