When Iwan and Manuela Wirth first encountered Durslade Farm on the outskirts of Bruton, an agrarian town located in Somerset, England, they saw more than verdant grounds and a derelict farmstead: they saw a refuge and a vision of home. In time, this vision expanded, materializing in the 2014 opening of Hauser & Wirth Somerset, an international contemporary art center for artists, locals, and visitors from near and far – a place full of energy, people, and ideas that remains a retreat, a sanctuary.
‘Beyond the Town: Conversations of Art and Land’ offers a chorus of essays, interviews, and artworks that detail Durslade Farm’s history and its 21st-century renaissance. The multiplicity of these voices and themes convey the farm’s physical and conceptual terrains, weaving together the story of Durslade’s transformation and its local community.
