Zaha Hadid’s Chanel Mobile Art Space coming to Central Park October 20th to November 9th

July 28th, 2008

Chanel’s Mobile Art pavilion via NYTimes

Karl Lagerfeld, Artistic Director of CHANEL, Maureen Chiquet, Global CEO of CHANEL, and Bruno Pavlovsky, CHANEL Fashion President, along with Adrian Benepe, Commissioner of the Department of Parks & Recreation for the City of New York, and Douglas Blonsky, President of the Central Park Conservancy and Central Park Administrator, have announced that the Mobile Art Pavilion will touch ground in Central Park on October 20th and will stay through November 9th. The spacecraft-looking pavilion will sit in the Rumsey Playfield, around the center of the park at 5th Ave and 69th Street. Mobile Art is a 7,500-square-foot traveling art gallery that exhibits changing installations created by some of the leading international contemporary artists, such as Nobuyoshi Araki, the Blue Noses, Daniel Buren, Sophie Calle, Wim Delvoye, Sylvie Fleury, Yang Fudong, Subodh Gupta, Y.Z. Kami, Yoko Ono and Pierre & Gilles.

Central Park to Host Mobile Art Chanel Contemporary Art Container by Zaha Hadid [Dexigner]
Chanel Rents Central Park for Tacky Art Pavilion [Artnet]
Central Park To Host a Chanel Commission [NYSun]
Central Park to Host Exhibition Pavilion by Zaha Hadid [Contract Magazine]
A 7,500-Square-Foot Ad for Chanel, With an Artistic Mission [NYTimes]
Central Park to Host Mobile Art Chanel Contemporary Art Container By Zaha Hadid [Artdaily]
Chanel Brings Giant Ad/Art to Central Park [Gothamist]
More on Mobile Art covered by Art Observed here

Zaha Hadid and Karl Lagerfeld via Artdaily

The concept of the project was designed by CHANEL’s Karl Lagerfeld, as a way to display the iconic “2.55” leather handbag originally designed by Coco Chanel. Zaha Hadid was selected as the architect for the portable pavilion. Karl Lagerfeld has described her as “a kind of Coco Chanel of today, not in fashion, but in architecture”. The shape of the 20-foot-tall pavilion derives its inspiration from natural and organic forms.

Chanel’s Mobile Art pavilion via NYTimes

CHANEL’s Mobile Art first opened in Hong Kong in February 2008, and is on a two-year global tour. After New York, Mobile Art has plans to go to London and Moscow.

Chanel’s Mobile Art pavilion via NYTimes

“Our partnership with CHANEL continues the great tradition of bringing world class cultural offerings to New York City’s parks,” said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “Zaha Hadid’s traveling pavilion will place a futuristic work of architecture and outstanding works of contemporary art in an historic setting in the heart of Central Park. The contrast will be fantastic, melding the vision of one of the world’s most important fashion houses with the beauty of one of the world’s most significant works of landscape design. We are very pleased to welcome this ambitious project to New York City and encourage all New Yorkers to visit Central Park to see it.”

Zaha Hadid via NYTimes

“As one of America’s most important works of art and a treasured New York landmark, Central Park is the perfect setting for CHANEL’s innovative and free public art exhibition,” said Douglas Blonsky of the Central Park Conservancy. “As caretakers, the Central Park Conservancy works in partnership with the City to create a safe, beautiful and inviting space where cultural opportunities such as this can flourish.”