‘A Conjunction’: Sculptor Hans Josephsohn and architect Peter Märkli at Hauser & Wirth Somerset

The Bruton, Somerset, outpost of art gallery Hauser & Wirth is host to an exhibition of works by the sculptor Hans Josephsohn and drawings by architect Peter Märkli. Curated by critic, collector and Drawing Matter founder Niall Hobhouse, the show explores the connections between the two men, who first met in Zurich in 1975, when Märkli was studying at the ETH, and went on to develop a friendship and to collaborate. Märkli has frequently included reliefs by Josephsohn in his buildings, and Josephsohn – who died in 2012 – turned to Märkli for assistance in constructing frameworks for his sculptures, organising a drawing archive and installing exhibitions. The Hauser & Wirth show takes its name from Märkli’s celebrated rural museum La Congiunta (1992), which was designed to house bronzes by Josephsohn.

Works on display are drawn from across the careers of both men. They include a selection of Josephsohn’s large-scale abstract brass sculptures as well as wall-hung reliefs and works on paper.

Märkli’s drawings – made mostly on A4 paper in coloured pen or pencil – are apparently naive but are the means by which powerful architectural ideas are conceived and developed.

Sketchbooks revealing Märkli’s early designs for La Congiunta are displayed in a vitrine at the end of the exhibition, and visitors can also explore printed material related to the project, and watch both the artist and architect talk about their work.

To coincide with the opening day of the exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Somerset on 30 September, Drawing Matter will be holding an open day at Shatwell Farmyard, three miles from the gallery.

Drawings from the collection will be on show, as well as design material for planned building projects at Shatwell by Clancy Moore, Florian Beigel, Hugh Strange Architects and Alvaro Siza. It will also be possible to inspect the Inlook Tower (The Hadspen Obelisk), the last work of Peter Smithson, and completed buildings on the site by Hugh Strange, Stephen Taylor and Skene Catling de la Pena.

Minibuses will run between the two farmyards throughout the afternoon. To attend the open day, email ali@drawingmattercollections.com before Wednesday 27 September.

‘Josephsohn/Märkli: A Conjunction’
Hauser & Wirth Somerset
30 September 2017 – 1 January 2018

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