Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate Modern in London, defined art as existing solely for its own purpose. I paraphrase slightly as I do not remember the exact quotation, but the point is his definition suggests art is not there to sell stuff.
I invite you to consider Serota's notion in the form of this clothes boutique in Montreal, Canada. The space was designed by
Saucier + Perrotte Architect and is a refurbishment of some old warehouse space. In that sense it is unremarkable and similar retail environments can be seen in edgy, fashionable districts of London, Berlin and New York. But taken as a whole the the project aims to draw in the work of various artists treating the store as an art space.
It is selling, there is no doubt about that, but is it art?
Changing with the seasons video directors, sculptors and other contemporary artists will be invited to use the space.
The collections on view in this series of images are designed by: Richard de Latour,Goti, Jean Colonna, MiharaYasuhiro, Mad et Len, Ilaria Nistri, Antoni et Alison, L.G.B.,Philippe Dubuc and A.F. Vandevorst.
