Somerset
Occupying a former farmstead in Bruton, Hauser & Wirth Somerset is home to a vibrant program of art exhibitions, events, learning activities and artists’ residencies, which connect with the local community and landscape.
On View This Spring
‘Present Tense’ is on view through Sunday 28 April.
Exhibitions are free to attend. No advance booking necessary. For more information about how to plan your visit, read our visitor guide.
Please note that Oudolf Field will be closed on Tuesday 16 April, with reduced access on Wednesday 17 April and Thursday 18 April.
Roth Bar will reopen on Saturday 25 May as a site-specific artwork and fully functioning bar within the Threshing Barn, to mark our 10-year anniversary, alongside the opening of Phyllida Barlow’s major solo exhibition ‘unscripted.’
Plan Your Visit
The gallery and garden are open Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm
The garden will be closed on Tuesday 16 April, with reduced access on Wednesday 17 April and Thursday 18 April
The Farm Shop is open 7 days a week from 9 am
Roth Bar will reopen on Saturday 25 May
By Train
Our nearest train station is Bruton which is less than a 10 minute walk to the gallery via our community allotments.
Entrance to the gallery and garden is free, however we invite visitors to donate to local charities who are doing fantastic work within our community. Our 2023 – 2024 charity partner is Bruton Community Library.
Hauser & Wirth Somerset offer a range of group visits, Tuesday – Friday, during normal operational hours. Pre-booking is required for all group visits, at least three weeks in advance.
Find out more about our Learning groups, including schools, universities, community groups and adult learners here. For any other inquiries about group visits, including garden groups, please email somerset@hauserwirth.com.
To mark the 10-year anniversary of our opening, the on-site restaurant will be closed for refurbishment until summer 2024. The new Roth Bar will reopen on Saturday 25 May and the Farm Shop remains open throughout this period, offering hot drinks, sandwiches and food from the deli counter.
There is a car park on-site, with space for coaches, as well as a dedicated space for wheelchair parking, providing easy access to the gallery, restaurant and farm shop.
All areas throughout the site are accessible for wheelchair users, as well as disabled toilets. However, please ask our front desk team if you require additional assistance.
At the top of Oudolf Field sits the Radić Pavilion, designed by Chilean architect Smiljan Radić. It was installed at Hauser & Wirth Somerset in March 2015, following its unveiling as the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in 2014.
We welcome families to explore the gallery and garden, but ask that you do not touch or climb on the sculptures, or pick the flowers and plants. We have many ponds so children must be supervised at all times.
We have a kennel with water bowls in the car park, where dogs are welcome to wait. Please note these are unsupervised.
For more information, read our visitor guide.
Oudolf Field
Piet Oudolf, the internationally-renowned landscape designer from the Netherlands, has designed the landscaping scheme for the entire site, including Oudolf Field – a large perennial meadow situated behind the gallery buildings.
Carefully shaped and planted, the garden echoes the tradition of classical gardens, but the variety of species and combination of plants creates a looseness, softening the formality of its appearance. Known for his use of plants with spectacular seed heads, Oudolf has created a garden that has interest year round.
At the top of Oudolf Field sits the Radić Pavilion. Designed by Chilean architect Smiljan Radić, it was installed at Hauser & Wirth Somerset in March 2015, following its unveiling the previous year as the Serpentine Gallery 2014 Pavilion.
The garden is open Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm. Entrance is free, although we encourage visitors to donate to our chosen charity, Bruton Community Library.
Artist-in-Residence
Hauser & Wirth Somerset is delighted to welcome Firelei Báez as our artist-in-residence in April 2024. Dominican-American artist Báez has achieved wide acclaim over the past decade for her immersive paintings, sculptures and installations that explore diasporic histories against the backdrop of colonial narratives and conventional ways of seeing, re-working visual references drawn from the past to explore new possibilities for the future.
Restaurant, Farm Shop and Farmhouse
Roth Bar will reopen on Saturday 25 May as a fully functioning, site-specific artwork within the Threshing Barn at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, to mark the 10-year anniversary of our opening.
Created by artist Oddur Roth, grandson of the late German-born Swiss artist Dieter Roth, the bar is a dynamic and changing installation, composed of salvaged materials and objects from reclamation yards in the surrounding area, inspired by the history of Durslade Farm.
The Farm Shop celebrates the best growers, farmers and makers that Somerset has to offer, as well as the produce from the surrounding Durslade Farm.
It is passionate about promoting and sharing local talent, supporting small projects with big futures and working with established producers to create special products that you can only find in the Farm Shop. With its own in-house forager and butcher, the Farm Shop showcases truly seasonal produce.
The Farm Shop is open 7 days a week, Monday – Sunday, from 9 am.
The six bedroom renovated farmhouse is available for private stays, featuring a number of artworks and site-specific installations by our artists. Durslade Farmhouse is located on the site of Hauser & Wirth Somerset and forms part of a group of Grade II listed buildings that date back from as early as 1760.
Renovated by Argentinian architect Luis Laplace, the farmhouse is full of character and bold innovative twists. It celebrates the natural antiquity of the building by combining original fittings with unexpected interiors and vintage furniture. It is completed by unique artworks from Hauser & Wirth’s artists, including a specially commissioned painted mural in the dining room by Guillermo Kuitca.
Learning at Somerset
Hauser & Wirth Somerset has a rich and varied learning program that creates a dialogue between art, artists and a diverse audience. The gallery offers opportunities open to schools, colleges, universities and general members of the public.
If you would like to find out more about options for a learning group visit to Hauser & Wirth Somerset, please click here.
Hauser & Wirth Somerset supports, collaborates and works in partnership with many local institutions, businesses and organizations. Our founders Iwan & Manuela Wirth live locally and are patrons of a number of charities. Their charitable giving is focused on art, architecture, conservation, learning and community.
Latest News
In Residence: Oddur Roth
Hear from Oddur Roth during his residency at The Maltings studio space, as he worked with his team to reimagine Roth Bar as a new site-specific artwork and fully functioning bar inside the Threshing Barn at Hauser & Wirth Somerset.
‘Write Now’ Residency: Leela Keshav
A new writer’s residency, in partnership with ArtReview, will take place in Somerset this April and May. Our inaugural participant, Leela Keshav, will develop writing methodologies that engage with art and artists at Hauser & Wirth, the local community, and the wider cultural and ecological landscape.
The ‘unscripted’ Artist Residencies
Selected by Frances Morris, and taking place in parallel with our forthcoming exhibition, ‘Phyllida Barlow. unscripted’, this summer residency will welcome guest artists, Jessie Flood-Paddock, Young In Hong, Jack Killick and Hamish Pearch, to spend time living and working in Somerset.
About Somerset
Hauser & Wirth Somerset is a pioneering world-class contemporary art gallery and multipurpose arts, education and community destination.
Behind the gallery there is a landscaped garden, designed by Piet Oudolf, which includes a changing program of outdoor sculptures and houses the Radić Pavilion, designed by Smiljan Radić.
On-site restaurant serves seasonal, locally sourced food and drink, and the Farm Shop supports farmers, growers and makers by stocking the best produce from our community.
Conservation, Learning and Sustainability
Centered around a core belief in conservation, learning and sustainability, Hauser & Wirth Somerset offers a wide variety of events including talks, seminars, workshops and screenings, as well as an extensive learning program for local schools, young people and families. We also have a bookshop and dedicated learning room on site.
Restoration and Awards
Prior to the gallery opening in 2014, the Grade II listed farm buildings remained derelict for several decades, until they were sensitively restored and renovated by Paris-based architectural firm Laplace and local architects benjamin+beauchamp.
Hauser & Wirth Somerset has been awarded both a RIBA South West Award 2015 and Civic Trust 2015 Award. In 2014, Durslade Farmhouse also won the William Stansell Historic Buildings Award.
Make Hauser & Wirth Somerset
A destination for contemporary making and the crafted object, located on Bruton High Street, a 10-minute walk from the main site. Since its launch in 2018, the gallery has presented work by over 80 artist-makers, providing valuable insights into the working processes and rich narratives of their practices. To coincide with the diverse and collaborative exhibition program, the gallery hosts residencies, talks, workshops and community events.
‘Objects of Contemplation’ is on view through Sunday 12 May. Visit the gallery Wednesday – Sunday, 10 am – 4 pm.