Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art

The Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art is an educational charity and a not-for-profit^[1] contemporary art gallery based in London. Established in 2004, the foundation is housed in a converted warehouse over two floors in a building that was renovated to a design concept by the Italian architect, Claudio Silvestrin. The gallery comprises roughly 5,000 sq ft (460 m2) of exhibition space.

Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art

Location within Central London
Established	2004
Location	14 Wharf Road, London N1, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°31′49″N 0°05′42″W / 51.5302°N 0.095°W / 51.5302; -0.095Coordinates: 51°31′49″N 0°05′42″W / 51.5302°N 0.095°W / 51.5302; -0.095
Director	Ziba Ardalan
Public transit access	Old Street tube, Angel tube
Website	www.parasol-unit.org

Parasol Unit was established by its director and curator, Ziba Ardalan.^[2] A graduate in the History of Art from Columbia University New York, Ardalan worked as Guest Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She guest curated the exhibition 'Winslow Homer and the New England Coast' at the Whitney's Stamford, Ct. Branch (1984). Ardalan became the first Director/Curator of New York City's Swiss Institute in 1987, before moving to Zurich, Switzerland, and then relocating to UK and founding Parasol Unit. She has curated numerous exhibitions and has also lectured and written about art. Prior to her career in art, Ardalan obtained a Ph.D. in physical chemistry.

Funding

The gallery space is privately owned and has been put at the disposal of the foundation at no charge.^[3]

Selected exhibitions

Exhibitions include The Performance in 2005 by Michaël Borremans,^[4] No Snow on the Broken Bridge in 2006 by Yang Fudong,^[5][6] Momentary Momentum: Animated Drawings with work by Francis Alÿs, William Kentridge, and David Shrigley,^[7][8] Fire Under Snow in 2008 by Darren Almond,^[9] Silent Warriors in 2010 by Adel Abdessemed,^[10] The Time That Remains in 2010 by David Claerbout^[11] and Morgenland in 2017 by Elger Esser.^[12][13][14]

Images of the Gallery

•  

  Heidi Bucher installation

See also

• Victoria Miro Gallery located next door

References

1. "HugeDomains.com - CommentArt.COM". www.hugedomains.com. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
2. Brown, Griselda Murray (27 June 2014). "Curator Ziba Ardalan and Parasol Unit, her non-profit art gallery in east London". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
3. Charity Commission accounts http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/SHOWCHARITY/RegisterOfCharities/DocumentList.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1107425&SubsidiaryNumber=0&DocType=AccountList, retrieved 16 January 2011
4. Cumming, Laura (15 May 2005). "Art: Michael Borremans". the Guardian.
5. "Adrian Searle is transfixed on Yang Fudong's video installations". the Guardian. 25 April 2006. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
6. Secher, Benjamin (31 March 2006). "Viewfinder: from 'No Snow on the Broken Bridge' by Yang Fudong (2006)" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
7. "BBC - Collective - Gallery - Momentary Momentum: Animated Drawings, Parasol Unit". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
8. "Video: QUBO GAS | Arts and entertainment | guardian.co.uk Arts". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
9. "Captain moonlight: A new exhibition of Darren Almond's ethereal,". The Independent. 17 January 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
10. Sherwin, Skye; Clark, Robert (17 September 2010). "This week's new exhibitions". the Guardian.
11. Searle, Adrian (1 June 2012). "Adrian Searle encounters ... a teacup falling 70 times in a 14-hour film". The Guardian.
12. "Beyond the bombs: Elger Esser's Middle Eastern landscapes – in pictures". The Guardian. 31 March 2017. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
13. "Elger Esser: Morgenland". Time Out London. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
14. "Conciliating Landscapes". Aesthetica Magazine. Retrieved 31 December 2020.

External links

• Parasol Unit website
• Sotheby's Frieze 2010 video, retrieved 4 December 2010
• Time Out website
• ArtSlant
• Spoonfed
• Parasol Unit publications at Cornerhouse^{[permanent dead link]}