9.23.22 | DIGS.NET 15
P R O F I L E | H A U S E R & W I R T H
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ISLA DEL REY in Menorca,
Spain, a decommis-
sioned naval hospital
established by the
English in 1711 is now
a contemporary art center for Hauser
& Wirth with gleaming-white galleries,
artfully drawn gardens, a nautically
touched restaurant and craft-filled gallery
shop. Given the contemporary art already
glorifying its gallery walls in outposts from
Hong Kong, London, Zurich, Gstaad,
Monaco, and St. Moritz, to New York and
Los Angeles, Hauser & Wirth has never
found itself in want of an extraordinary
canvas. And yet, it was a crumbling but
magnificent edifice languishing on a small
island in the port of Mahón that presented
Hauser & Wirth with a prize opportunity to
add another architectural restoration to
its reputationally unquestioned repertoire.
Breathing new life into buildings that have
seemingly outlived their time or usefulness
is the Hauser & Wirth way. One could
argue that the internationally-admired
gallery is at this point as known for its
painstaking architectural overhauls as it is
its vibrant and edifying exhibitions. Hauser
& Wirth is, you'll remember, responsible
for turning a hodgepodge of dilapidated
farm buildings in rural Somerset into a
