When I met with John Pawson, I could feel his trust. There were many architects from Switzerland to the States from London to Tokyo. They felt as if they could not put their own statement on top of it. Another problem with selecting the architect was that many of them saw the building as too strong. So you have to know if the relationship can work or not. Because when you sit at a table, and you talk, you can learn a lot more about a person. And I thought the most important thing is, to visit all of them. Let's say, I had a lot of different architects in my head. So it took a lot of tries and visits to find the right place.ĭF: “Well, this also was a journey. These little things are very important to consider, and it is a part of the introduction to another world. Because you need to understand the feeling. And in every place I visited, it was really dependent on how you entered the town. The architect, John Pawson played a huge role in making the vision come to reality.įL: How did you go about selecting the building for displaying your collection?ĭF: I was looking inside and outside of Europe to find the right space. It took four years from designing to construction to prepare the museum. It is the main thing I want to achieve, I am not interested in teaching people” what is important to the museum founder is bringing the audience to the here and now. “I want to grab and work with the feelings of the viewer. Désiré Feuerle does not attempt to teach anyone anything. The collection does not have any labels or notes. I thought it's important to concentrate the people's minds in a small space and start with music, bringing them really from the street where they entered from, to the present moment. But also the entrance would have not been there. He went with the feeling he wanted to create and the mindset that would allow people to leave everything behind, and enter the collection in a state that would let them see, and experience the collection better.

Going into the sound room, listening to a song, and then entering the collection. Delicately chosen, he said that he kept going through this experience himself. It took several continuous tries to find the right piece for this experience. We asked Désiré Feuerle how he went about selecting the opening, and only sound piece for the collection. The experiential opportunity of the audience is elevated by the first entrance into the gallery, the sound room. The group of people you entered with are barely making a sound, they are all absorbed into their own personal journey through the collection. There are no labels, the sculptures are dimly lit, and your gaze begins to wander. You walk slowly towards the light and you enter the Collection. It seems to be exactly what you want to hear at that moment. Your mind begins to empty, and the silence is hardly broken by a subtle ringing of a John Cage piece. You cannot see anything, and it's almost completely quiet. You gave up your phone and entered a completely dark room. Feuerle, it would be impossible to only report on what the collection is like, when the gallery opened its doors to the public, etc, but rather it is essential, to write about how is it, that the masterful juxtapositions, lighting, sound, smell, create an unimaginable atmosphere, so clearly present at the Feuerle Collection.īefore continuing, I suggest to all the readers to close their eyes, take ten deep breaths, and continue with the description in the following passage: It can not be communicated through photographs or writing. The said “feeling”, experienced within the collection is an integral quality of the museum. Feuerle, the word “feeling” came up a lot of the time. It is irreproducible and poses a challenge behind writing about this inimitable collection. He is known to be a pioneer in juxtaposing antiques with contemporary art, as well as a one-of-a-kind connoisseur of Asian art.įrom the very beginning, it is impossible not to notice the atmosphere, the feeling, that this transformed bunker stirs within the visitors. These pieces have all been selected and juxtaposed by the museum’s founder, Désiré Feuerle.

The collection hosts international contemporary artists, juxtaposed with Imperial Chinese furniture and ancient Southeast Asian art. It is difficult to think of a place in Berlin more atmospheric than The Feuerle Collection - a concrete, former World War Two telecommunications bunker located on the Hallesches riverside.

Artists farrago