10-13 November 2021
Wednesday–Saturday
12noon-5pm
Reflecting on Collecting informal talks and meet-up Saturday 13 November, 5-9pm. Book on Eventbrite.
Unwrap! is a public gesture that exhibits a unique art collection in its entirety for the first and last time. After 20 years of collecting and sharing artworks for the domestic setting, founding members of The Collective will deliver, unwrap and exchange their jointly owned collection in the public forum of the galley.
As The Collective performs its final act of sharing, works in the collection will be brought to Beaconsfield for their documentation and exhibition over four days during gallery opening hours. The artworks will be accompanied by their joint owners; member households who will talk with visitors about the artworks they’ve lived with and the particular works they will inherit at the end of the process.
Artists include Michael Armitage, Fiona Banner, Jemima Brown, Peter Doig, Bobby Dowler, Tracy Emin, David Goldblatt, Joy Gregory, Paul McCarthy, Frances Richardson…
As the individual works are unwrapped, photographed and displayed, the entire collection will emerge into view for a final celebration on Saturday 13 November.
The Collective was established in 2001 to promote a radical and affordable way of collecting and sharing art for the intimate space of the home. For two decades members of the group have visited artists’ studios, talked to curators and galleries, and enjoyed energetic discussion to build a collection of over 60 works, including works by emergent artists who have gone on to achieve wider recognition. The group offers an innovative model for would-be collectors and art enthusiasts and has spawned half-a-dozen similar groups around the UK and The Netherlands.