About
The Chalet is a community of artists' studios and exhibition spaces. The term
“The Chalet” has also come to be known as a wider collective of artists working in multiple cities across North
America and Europe who at one point exhibited or shared studio space in the physical venue in Glasgow. The previously
unnamed studio building was branded in 2010 with its debut exhibition 'The Chalet Invitational' part of The
Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art that year.
The Chalet's physical presence, like its exhibition programme, is in constant flux. A veritable
Frankenstein's monster of a building, the once dilapidated Chalet has been built and rebuilt and now holds within its
walls a plethora of architectural approaches dating back well before the second world war. The exhibitions
over the last four years have taken place amidst the Chalet's continual renovation. This peculiar environment
has added to, if not inspired, the eclectic and heady mix of artistic expression that takes place within The Chalet. This peculiar
relationship between the fabric of the building and the exhibitions has also provided us the opportunity to
allow dramatic artists' interventions to take place within the space: artists working directly with the ancient
sandstone and brick, calling up dilemmas in architectural ethics, gentrification, and the editing of history.
The Chalet has built a unique reputation for questioning the all too convenient divisions of
contemporary art, fine art, low art, design, architecture, graffiti, functional works, non-functional works, and
dysfunctional works. The artists at The Chalet have long held elitism and populism both unworthy of allegiance.
One might view a performance piece from the comfort of a space age recliner, or question whether the
precariously placed timber is part of the evolving architecture or a sculptural intervention. Viewers may find
a commissioned mural by a little known local street-artist on the front of the building before walking inside
to see works by artists also exhibiting in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Our aim is to examine
convention by breaking it, examine hierarchies by undermining them, and all the while offer up meticulously
selected, seamless, and deeply considered exhibitions.
