Next month there will be a chance to go into the house that’s often described as the most photographed building in Spitalfields. This Georgian house on Princelet Street will be open in October, as home to an art exhibition.
4 Princelet Street. Photo Lucy Dawkins. Courtesy Gagosian
Presented by Gagosian, the display will be part of a new program of temporary projects sited beyond the walls of the gallery that allows audiences to experience art in unusual contexts.
For the first presentation in the series, early works by the artist, Christo, mostly from the 1960s and 70s, will be set in dialogue with the former Huguenot weaver’s house. Foreshadowing the artist’s large-scale temporary public projects, these sculptural works see everyday objects veiled in fabric or plastic and bound with rope or twine.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations, often large landmarks and landscape elements wrapped in fabric. For this exhibition, it’s his smaller scale works that will be on display.
The artist’s mixed heritage and experience as a political refugee, escaping Stalin-era Bulgaria to Prague, then relocating to Vienna, Geneva, Paris, and eventually New York, defined him as an eternal wanderer. This is echoed by the history of 4 Princelet Street itself as a house that has been home to successive migrant families. The property was first constructed in 1723 to house Huguenot migrants—the UK’s first refugees. The area has since welcomed Irish linen workers, Eastern European Jews, Jews from the Netherlands, and most recently members of Spitalfields’ large Bangladeshi community.
The exhibition, Christo – Early Works will be open at 4 Princelet Street daily from Friday 6th to Sunday 22nd October between 10am to 6pm, and will be free to visit.
It’s both a chance to see human-scale art by an artist famous for massive commissions, in a building that is not often open to the general public to wander around.
Thank you for this article and alert to this exhibition. I look forward to visiting.
As a Londoner living and working there in 70s. I find this so interesting hope to visit
If you cannot make this exhibition I would commend a visit to the Dennis Sever’s House in Spitalfields. Well worth the effort
Great to know about this. I’m not meaning to be disputatious but pretty sure Huguenots aren’t the first UK refugees. Jews came from Europe in the 15c and I’m sure there were refugees way before that.
Hello,
Planning a visit and wondering the average amount of time people spend?
Thanks,
Wendy