Abu Dhabi Art: Take time out for Julius Bar

Terrasse by Monica Studer and Christoph van den Berg

Although we’ve been suffering from the effects of the wind and rain – with yesterday’s temporary closure and today’s restructuring of the fair and the schedule, things seem to be getting back on track now.

So, this evening, as we enjoy the rest of the programme, we took a stop at the Julius Bar lounge.

Sponsors of the event, Swiss bank Julius Bar (pronounced Bear) have brought with them a body of work from the artistic pairing Monica Studer and Christoph van den Berg to demonstrate some of their national talent.

Christian Zingg, curator of the Julius Bar art collection and manager of the foundation told us that the bank has a collection of about 5000 pieces and for the fair they decided to bring something typically Swiss. “People here do not know about Swiss art, even if Hauser & Wirth are here, they don’t show Swiss art so we wanted to show something that is part of our identity and our image.”

Studer and van den Berg have been working together since the end of the 1980s and the bulk of their work in the Julius Bar lounge at the fair is based around a virtual hotel that they created on the internet called Vue Des Alpes.

“We took the memories of our childhood where our parents took us hiking up the mountains and we decided to work up our memories digitally,” explains van den Berg.

“The aim is was to produce scenery that looked realistic and could be recognised internationally,” Studer continues.

On the website of Vue Des Alpes, people can book virtual holidays, check in to the fictitious hotel and enjoy the alpine setting. “You can take a small part of the internet to yourself then,” says van den Berg. “What is interesting to us is the cross section of cultures in a place like the internet.”

We recommend you check out the lounge, enjoy some refreshment and take in the Swiss atmosphere of the Alps.

* The Julius Bar Lounge is open until 10pm tonight and tomorrow from 2pm-10pm