John Pawson

The Belgian coastal resort of Knokke is a place of shifting horizons and sweeping vistas, the blues and greys of sea and sky giving way to the lusher greens of a nature reserve behind the shore, the quiet drama heightened by the extraordinary quality of the light. In 2009 work finished on the interior architecture of an apartment in one of a pair of new buildings on the dunes.
As well as pieces from the clients’ existing art collection, the design incorporated two site-specific works by Richard Long —
the first a wall piece in the main living space created using mud from the estuary of the River Avon, brought over in a bucket on the Eurostar by the artist and applied by hand; the second a slate floor work installed on the seaward balcony. In March 2013, John returned to Knokke for the inauguration of a second specially commissioned work, this time by Antony Gormley, comprising two human figures — one standing on the terrace facing the nature reserve and the other installed on a breakwater looking out to sea, some 275 metres away, but visible from the apartment’s interior.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photography
John Pawson