In 1997, the late German-born Swiss artist Dieter Roth installed a bar as part of his first exhibition for the Hauser & Wirth gallery in Zürich, Switzerland. Fully functional, it was also a performative piece in its own right, drawing visitors into the installation by recording and archiving their conversations. Since then, iterations of the original bar have popped up around the world, united by their tendency to weave site-specific materials into their design.
Now, artist Oddur Roth, Dieter’s grandson, is nodding to this history with a newly rethought Roth Bar, now open at Hauser & Wirth Somerset to mark the gallery’s tenth anniversary. Artist-in-residence Roth stays faithful to the original concept by using salvaged objects and materials in the composition. ‘The challenge with this is ensuring you respect the things that are already there,’ says Roth. ‘You don’t want to put in something that hogs all the attention. It has to be natural. The sculpture has to grow spontaneously and organically within the confines of the building it is installed in.’
