Given the long and illustrious career of the multi-talented Spanish artist Oscar Tusquets Blanca, it's surprising to learn that his new solo show at Room One gallery in Clerkenwell, London is his first ever in the UK.
Born in 1941 in Barcelona, Tusquets began his career in the 60s as an architect and now counts several exhibition halls in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Toledo metro station in Naples among his built works. As a furniture designer he co-designed the 'Dalilips' sofa in 1975 with his good friend Salvador; he was a founding member of design company BD Barcelona; and several of his furniture designs are now held in the collections of MoMA in New York and the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris. He has written several critically-acclaimed books and his paintings have been displayed in galleries across Europe.
For his UK gallery debut, Tusquets has gathered two of his limited edition 'Gaulino' chairs (originally designed in 1989 and produced by BD Barcelona) and 50 erotic oil paintings, called Hot Days, that depict female nudes in a sequence of provocative poses. Naturally, the artist also took charge of the exhibition design, creating a low walled enclosure painted scarlet red to match the firey hue used across his paintings.
Tying in with the exhibition's erotic theme, one of the elegantly poised, limited edition 'Gaulino' chairs has been customised by Tusquets with a pair of hand painted buttocks emblazoned across its contoured seat. Explaining the origin of the chair's unusual name, Tusquets comments, 'The chair took on a shape that was reminiscent of Antoni Gaudí and the 1950s Italian designer Carlo Mollino. For that reason... we decided to call it "Gaulino".'
In addition, Tusquets has published a limited edition Art Book in collaboration with Umberto Allemandi. Just 200 copies are available, with each one featuring a personalised watercolour by Tusquets on the title page.
Called 'Hot Days: 50 Paintings and a Chair', the exhibition showcases the acclaimed architect, designer, writer and painter's multi-disciplinary talents
The oil paintings depict female nudes in a sequence of provocative erotic poses
Tusquets also took charge of the exhibition design, creating a low walled enclosure painted scarlet red to match the background of his paintings
One of the elegantly poised 'Gaulino' chairs has been customised by Tusquets with a pair of hand painted buttocks emblazoned across its contoured seat
In addition, Tusquets has published a limited edition Art Book in collaboration with Umberto Allemandi
INFORMATION
'Hot Days: 50 Paintings and a Chair' is on view until 31 October
Photography courtesy Oscar Tusquets Blanca and Room One
ADDRESS
Room One
12–14 Berry Street
London, EC1V 0AU
-
All-In is the Paris-based label making full-force fashion for main character dressingPart of our monthly Uprising series, Wallpaper* meets Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø of All-In, the LVMH Prize-nominated label which bases its collections on a riotous cast of characters – real and imagined
-
Maserati joins forces with Giorgetti for a turbo-charged relationshipAnnouncing their marriage during Milan Design Week, the brands unveiled a collection, a car and a long term commitment
-
Through an innovative new training program, Poltrona Frau aims to safeguard Italian craftThe heritage furniture manufacturer is training a new generation of leather artisans
-
‘Humour is foundational’: artist Ella Kruglyanskaya on painting as a ‘highly questionable’ pursuitElla Kruglyanskaya’s exhibition, ‘Shadows’ at Thomas Dane Gallery, is the first in a series of three this year, with openings in Basel and New York to follow
-
The art of the textile label: how British mill-made cloth sold itself to Indian buyersAn exhibition of Indo-British textile labels at the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru is a journey through colonial desire and the design of mass persuasion
-
Artist Qualeasha Wood explores the digital glitch to weave stories of the Black female experienceIn ‘Malware’, her new London exhibition at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, the American artist’s tapestries, tuftings and videos delve into the world of internet malfunction
-
Ed Atkins confronts death at Tate BritainIn his new London exhibition, the artist prods at the limits of existence through digital and physical works, including a film starring Toby Jones
-
Tom Wesselmann’s 'Up Close' and the anatomy of desireIn a new exhibition currently on show at Almine Rech in London, Tom Wesselmann challenges the limits of figurative painting
-
A major Frida Kahlo exhibition is coming to the Tate Modern next yearTate’s 2026 programme includes 'Frida: The Making of an Icon', which will trace the professional and personal life of countercultural figurehead Frida Kahlo
-
A portrait of the artist: Sotheby’s puts Grayson Perry in the spotlightFor more than a decade, photographer Richard Ansett has made Grayson Perry his muse. Now Sotheby’s is staging a selling exhibition of their work
-
From counter-culture to Northern Soul, these photos chart an intimate history of working-class Britain‘After the End of History: British Working Class Photography 1989 – 2024’ is at Edinburgh gallery Stills
