Located in a former Second World War telecommunications bunker of 6,350.00 square meter exhibition space and renovated by the British architect John Pawson, the new space of the Feuerlé Colection is a museum new private art museum in Berlin Kreuzberg dedicated to Désiré Feuerle’s collection which encourages a conversation between different periods and cultures offering an alternative perception of ancient art and creates a new perspective on the works, leading viewers through a synesthetic experience. The collection juxtaposes international contemporary artists with Imperial Chinese furniture and Southeast Asian sculptures.
The collection brings together international contemporary art, Imperial Chinese lacquer and stone furniture, Chinese wood and stone Scholar Furniture from the Han Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, from 200 BC to the 18th century, and Khmer sculptures from the 7th to the 13th century.
The collection brings together international contemporary art, Imperial Chinese lacquer and stone furniture, Chinese wood and stone Scholar Furniture from the Han Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, from 200 BC to the 18th century, and Khmer sculptures from the 7th to the 13th century.
Description of project by John Pawson
The subject of this project is a pair of former telecommunications bunkers dating from the period 1942–44, located in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district, next to the canal. Fabricated from in situ shuttered concrete, with 2-metre thick walls, ceiling thicknesses of 3.37 metres and 1.6 metre wide columns, the bunkers are connected at basement level, while their roofs are populated with lines of larger and small vents, protected by massive concrete slabs. Square in plan, these vents remain key elements of the architecture’s identity.
This site was acquired by the art historian and connoisseur, Désiré Feuerlé, with the idea of creating a permanent home for his private collection of Chinese Imperial furniture, 7th–13th century South-east Asian sculpture and work by international contemporary artists, including Nobuyoshi Araki, Adam Fuss, Cristina Iglesias, Anish Kapoor, Zeng Fanzhi and James Lee Byars.
Intervention has been purposefully kept to a minimum, respectful always of the ways in which nature, man and the passage of time have made their marks on the fabric of the buildings. Rather than grand gestures, the focus of the effort has fallen on the subtle calibration of key thresholds, on the spatial narrative through the galleries, on the quality of the light and on specific, quietly charged sensory encounters — with the flooded lake room and with the enclosed space dedicated to the 1000-year-old imperial ritual of incense burning.
Visits to The Feuerle Collection must be booked in advance via the website. They are possible on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
