Galerie Feuerle, Art Gallery, Cologne, 1990

I consider this small project still one of my best. The concept was radical and the client understanding. The gallery had to be fitted into an old turn of the century appartment which was in a beautiful original shape. It had outstanding ceilings, a very nice original parquet and important doors with cut glass that slided into the walls. In France or Italy nothing special but in Germany and especially in Cologne very rare after the WW II bombings.
A fantastic appartment but not suited for a modern gallery. A courageous concept therfore had been developed where the whole place was to be wrapped in. The floors have been covered with wooden particle boards and a grey industrial pavment, the walls have been covered entirely with gypsum board on a special wooden construction allowing heavy artworks such as Anselm Kiefer’s paintings with lead appliances to be hung. Large revolving walls have been built to cover the windows gaining hanging space. Usually these walls were in their position against the windows but they could be opened to clean the windows or to service the radiators. Also it was possible to put them in a diagonal position gaining even more walls for exhibitions with small formats, graphics, photography and so on.
The only parts of the original appartment which remained untouched were the ceilings and since they were particulary beautiful I wanted them to be exalted to the maximum and possibly untouched by light arrangements. Flourescent tubes have therefore been fitted all around the upper part of our new doubled walls which usually was enough to illuminate a show. Additionally I personally manufactured very small low voltage spotlights on long chrome poles that could be plugged into four hardly visible outlets of the seize of a coin in each ceiling to highlight a sculpture or other free standing objects exhibited. These devices when not in use were stowed on a gun-rack like arrangement in one of the built in cupboards in the reception area.
The whole has been executed leaving the original basis of the appartment untouched and well conserved in order to be able to reconvert it to appartment if ever necessary. Unfortunately this painful option has been realized since the gallery closed a few years ago.