Grafton Street is the northen extension of Dover Street, turning the corner towards Bond Street with No 24 built in 1789 as the London residence of the Marquis of Salisbury. Substantially altered over the years, it achieved fame in the early 20th century when Helena Rubinstein opened her first Salon de Beaute designed by the modernist master Erno Goldfinger. The alterations have been to the advantage of the Zwirner Gallery as it has been able to achieve high quality contemporary interiors around an architectural staircase within the historic exterior fabric, designed by Annabelle Selldorf in conjunction with Cowie Montgomery Architects.
Jason Rhoades (1965-2006) died in Los Angeles when he was only 41 from a heart attack. He achieved fame for artistic dinner parties featuring a wide range of materials including neon signs with African, Caribbean, Creole and hip-hop slang as he attacked the contemporary art industry and the art world, placing a marker that creativity should be free to be achieved in a variety of different and non-conventional ways.
Two of his works feature prominently in the exhibition “Markers” at David Zwirner in Mayfair, along with works from other artists, the simplest of which is perhaps the most powerful image in the world, a cross, by Gerhard Richter. The world is full of markers, whether commercial symbols such as MacDonald’s golden arches or the Coca Cola logo or, in writing and modern digital media, the exclamation mark, the question mark and the phrase “lol”.
Los Angeles also features as the home of John Outterbridge whose Rag Factory fills one of the rooms with colourful found rags hanging from the ceiling like a curtain or a maypole, but with hidden bags to be explored. This is the marker…..
Other artists building meaning and symbolism into their work include Josh Kline with “Sighs of the Times”, Padraig Timoney with “Bus Stop (Glenshane)” and Michael Dean with “Shore Shake” and Prem Sabib’s drinking fountain having a double meaning about our sophisticated cultures fussing over the quality of drinking water and its mineral content while many people across the world do not have access to ghe most basic of clean water.
Art from the 1970’s to 2107, with many new works executed this year, the exhibition brings artists to Mayfair that are not well-known, organised by Rodolphe von Hofmannsthal, Director, David Zwirner London.
What does a steel drinking fountain symbolise to you?
