Roth Bar NYC Reconstructs The Art Walk
Is it a bar, is it an art piece?
now it is both.
Islandscapes is on view until mid-April. (Image taken by AKJAM Publishing of Dieter Roth’s work at Hauser & Wirth)
After a long-awaited liquor license, Hauer & Wirth’s Roth Bar opened a NYC location for Spring 2025. The opening reception for the wizard of transformation and transitoriness, Dieter Roth, was held at their 18thstreet gallery on February 25, 2025. Alongside Islandscapes, this was a preview of a functional bar as an extension of the bar as an installation.
Finally, a bit of low-key energy on the Chelsea gallery walk.
The Science
An ode to a petri dish in a contaminated incubator. (Image taken by AKJAM Publishing of Dieter Roth’s work at Hauser & Wirth)
Someone said it was earthy because everything there is made from the things around Dieter Roth.
How peculiar to drink and eat at a bar created by someone who made art with decaying food. Kleine Landschaft (1969) resembles a moldy Petri dish. Other sculptures, like Am Meer (1970-1974), were created from sugar and are gradually morphing into their eroding forms. We watch this evolution in real time every day and simply scroll past the blip about Hawaii and Manhattan sinking. Either that or akin to the British colonization of the Fiji Islands to shape the ‘natives’ into a more ‘civilized’ culture.
Beautiful islands before they devolve. (Image taken by AKJAM Publishing of Dieter Roth’s work at Hauser & Wirth)
Sugar islands fall apart like real islands. (Image taken by AKJAM Publishing of Dieter Roth’s work at Hauser & Wirth)
The world has seen a couple of Roth Bars, but New York is relatively most recent. The 18th St H&W installation has been around for around 10 years. Less ironic, Roth is said to have made a point of collaborating and brainstorming over drinks and food.
If one must, Coke is less destructive to teeth when it is made with cane sugar. (Image taken by AKJAM Publishing of Dieter Roth’s work at Hauser & Wirth)
Roth apparently said that he was not interested in making art. He was inspired by his dried up congealed brushes to use paint as glue for all his inconsistent possessions. The only thing not in discord is the fact that humans live with all this stuff. Piled up like garbage yet still of use. At some point.
We assumed these dogs (?) were made from sugar. (Image taken by AKJAM Publishing of Dieter Roth’s work at Hauser & Wirth)
The installation is visually interesting with constant provocation that makes standing at the bar for at least an hour comfortable. Never awkward aside from worrying if the wine glass is going to tip over the sloping counter. A constant stream of videos showing how the bar was built keeps the visual media casualties entertained. The eye travels along all the things that are put together that do not belong together. Monitors, sugar dogs and squeegees unite! It is not clear why rotating disco lights were among Roth’s belongings. This may have been his grandson’s possession as he contributed to creating this bar installation.
It seems everyone around the globe has a plethora of discarded-but-saved media equipment. (Image taken by AKJAM Publishing of Dieter Roth’s work at Hauser & Wirth)
We are not sure to whom the rotating disco lights belonged, but the wine bottles and coffee machine are ready to serve. (Image taken by AKJAM Publishing of Dieter Roth’s work at Hauser & Wirth)
“Standing at the wooden bar with a glass of white allows one to hear a patron ask ‘will the artist be here tonight’. Yet that is not as humorous as the bartender’s reply ‘he might be in later’ in all seriousness. If H&W could transform the space back to 1998 Switzerland, that would be worth the price of admission.”
Bottom Line
The gnome watches over the Roth Bar so that nobody walks away with the books. (Image: AKJAM Publishing)
The true art here is seeing a lock-and-key enzyme model work for mismatched objects. Transforming everyday substrates into catalysts. As discordant as it may look, it is a functional and active site.
The Roth Bar is an absorbing and unique space to process during a day visiting the Chelsea galleries and avoiding The High Line tourists. This is an ideal Fall-Winter season bar when the weather obstructs outdoor hangouts.
Islandscapes is on view until April 19th. The Roth Bar has a food and beverage menu. Say hi and bye to the gnome.
Do not take these books from the bar. They are there only for in-house reading. (Image: AKJAM Publishing)
