ArtHAUS: a very unusual exhibition

Is it art? Is it interiors? Is it a cross between beautiful and a little bit freaky? Yes, all of that and more. 

ArtHAUS is an "immersive installation," say its curators, "that fuses fine art and interior design in an environmental setting". To put that in layman's terms: it's an art exhibition in an unusual setting, or a surrealist take on interior design; as the house itself (a real one, yes, in east London) is the art, as well as housing the art. This is a group show involving five or six different DegreeArt artists designing each room. It makes use, particularly, of found and recycled objects and furniture.

So, the kitchen, for example (above) takes you on an imagined trip inside Warhol's famous Campbell's Soup can, and explores "the Warholian utilization of consumer goods" by absorbing "supermarket objects into art in an original way." I do love a bit of art-speak. Meanwhile, the living room examines the power of art and money via the Queen's Jubilee and the current Damien Hirst retrospective (below).

Intrigued? Do be. Enjoy this little preview, and go along in person if you can: full details of the event follow at the bottom of this post.      

 

 

The show, which opened today and runs till the end of June, in the heart of London's new art scene, Vyner Street, is hosted by Degree Art. You may have heard of them already, as they run an excellent online shop where you can buy carefully selected work from emerging art students and recent graduates at the country's best colleges – before they get big (and out of your price range).