Travelling Exhibition by Zaha Hadid

Travelling exhibition Pavilion for Chanel by Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid’s Chanel Pavilion in Central Park was conceived of as a mobile gallery to house artwork inspired by Chanel’s quilted chain-strap 2.55 handbag — pieces like an enormous Chanel handbag spilled over. Chanel paid $400,000 to the Central Park Conservancy, and donated an undisclosed sum to the organization. The pavilion is located at Rumsey Playfield, near Fifth Avenue and 69th Street and will be up until November 9th, after which it will be traveling to London.

The work has drawn criticism for its cluelessness, and its place in the Park, which theNew York Times calls an “instrument of psychological healing for the weary.” Apparently Chanel’s little interlocking Cs don’t have quite the same calming effect, even when they’re wrapped up in Hadid’s creativity.

In creating the Mobile Art Pavilion for Chanel, Zaha Hadid has developed the fluid geometries of natural systems into a continuum of fluent and dynamic space – where oppositions between exterior and interior, light and dark, natural and artificial landscapes are synthesised. Lines of energy converge within the Pavilion, constantly redefining the quality of each exhibition space whilst guiding movement through the exhibition. The work of selected artists has been commissioned for the exhibition. Hadid created an entire landscape for their work, rather than just an exhibition space. Visitors will be guided through the space using the latest digital technology developed in collaboration with the artists.

“The fascination of the Mobile Art Pavilion is the challenge of translating the intellectual and physical into the sensual – experimenting with completely unexpected and totally immersive environments for this global celebration of the iconic work of Chanel. I see the Pavilion as a kind of a total artwork that continually reinvents itself as it moves from Asia, to the USA and Europe,” states Zaha Hadid.