Christian Phillip MĂĽller
A Sense of Friendliness, Mellowness, and Permanence
November 22 - December 23, 1992
American Fine Arts, Co., Colin De Land Fine Art, New York
Untitled, 1992
felt curtain, faux leather, brass
two components: 90 x 65 in; 90 x 85 in
Maître d’ Stand, 1992
oak, American Fine Arts menus (number variable), guest list, yellow pages, and two telephone books from New York, mobile telephone
55 1/2 x 19 1/4 x 18 1/2 in
Disguise, 1992
wooden planks made of oak, wall lamps made of brass and glass
height: 55 in; width: variable
Ma Bibliothèque, 1992
wall paper, oak, artists books, cognac carafe, gilded
95 x 79 x 13 in
“ The entrance to the gallery was protected by a vestibule of brown felt as seen in cafés in Vienna. Upon entering, visitors encountered a “maître d’ stand,” the reservation podium that serves as the locus of social control in upscale New York restaurants. Here, a menu was provided, outlining the history of the gallery and listing the artists on view with their available works and prices. The neutral white of the gallery walls was overlaid with heavy ash-wood paneling, likewise inspired by a Viennese prototype by Adolf Loos. Sconces mounted in the paneling bathed the room in a warm half-light. There was no furniture whatsoever; if visitors wanted to sit they had to walk over to the art dealer’s desk, forcing them to engage in a sales conversation. The office area was cleaned up out for the exhibition; here, along with the paneling, a book-pattern wallpaper was installed from floor to ceiling, an American luxury item showing the spines of exclusively European publications. In front of this imaginary library, Müller placed a cabinet with his own production of European publications, the only books in the installation.“
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