SHOWTIME AT THE DOLDER GRAND
Already in 2022 I had the honor of leaving my mark in the venerable The Dolder Grand – one of the best hotels in Europe – in the form of three large-format artworks. The head chef Heiko Nieder himself (awarded 2 Michelin stars and 19 Gault Millau points) came up with the idea of combining his culinary skills with those of the street in the pop-up restaurant The Lobster Club. There was more about that HERE.
The cooperation turned out to be so successful that I was asked if I could imagine an exhibition in this really exceptionally good house. Of course, I didn’t want to miss this opportunity and when choosing the location I decided on the ballroom – a 400 square meter, almost round and very high hall that is used for various occasions. Luckily I can call a very capable interior designer my wife and after some brainstorming a really unique concept came up: All artworks should be presented in large open wooden boxes with different colored inner surfaces. And since I can call my friends David Schönherr and Roy Fritzsche from the Ore Mountains, two very good carpenters and craftsmen, smooth implementation was also guaranteed. So it was time to put together a team and tackle it. When the truck with 5 tons of material actually pulled up on the Wednesday before the show at the Dolder in Zurich, you saw what it means to tackle things and work together.
My friends from the Alfa Romeo F1 Team were also immediately enthusiastic about the idea and promised to deliver the F1 ArtCar to the exhibition. In addition, of course, I also wanted to offer a bit of entertainment and not just hold a stuffy and stiff vernissage. It should be a culture clash, where people from different backgrounds and social classes come together and have a good time together. The guest list for the private view on Friday evening was all the more interesting to read: from graffiti artists and tattoo artists to the CEO, a total of more than 220 guests came to celebrate the opening of my first and largest solo exhibition to date at 6 p.m. sharp. A flying apero directed by Heiko Nieder, all sorts of drinks from Chandon, Turicum Distillery or the Itaki Restaurant, a gripper machine with prizes from our many partners and supporters or the goodie bags for every guest certainly made the evening a really special event, which hopefully will remain in positive memory for many.
None of this would have been possible without the incredible commitment of Cristina Sarhan and Thom Businger’s management. At this point, many many thanks again to the team at The Dolder Grand for the great cooperation, the chef Rene Kilian for the unsolicited culinary supply during the assembly and dismantling, Kaiser Promotion & Montana Cans for the great goodies, Paul Fischler, who spontaneously arrived with a large box of Boogie-branded chocolate, Neondreams.ch for the great cooperation and the countless helpers and supporters of this grandiose project. I really appreciate that.
