"Sometimes artists and exhibitions of art can try a bit too hard, be a bit too clever, and fall flat on their face as a result. Sadly, that's what's happened at the Freud Museum, where they invited an artist in to create a site-specific installation based around the story of Sigmund Freud's long-serving housekeeper. Paula Fichtl was the longtime housekeeper for the Freud family, initially serving as the live-in housekeeper in Vienna, and later coming to London with the family when they escaped on the eve of WWII."
"To tell her often overlooked story, the museum invited Cathie Pilkington to create an art installation dotted around the museum, but has ended up with an exhibition that's almost as invisible as the housekeeper. Contemporary art inside a classic home is a delicate idea, but when done well, it can challenge our preconceptions about a space. However, the art needs to stand out and contrast strongly with the background, and the difficulty with this exhibition is that the interventions are almost invisible."
"In part, that's the venue, as Freud's house is packed with his collection of antiquities, so anything added needs to be pretty obvious. Here, it's more of a treasure hunt that can only be solved by picking up the exhibition guidebook and using the room maps to locate the new art. It really doesn't help that some of the additions look like antiques or the sort of glassworks that Freud might have collected anyway."
Cathie Pilkington created a site-specific installation at the Freud Museum based on Paula Fichtl, Sigmund Freud's longtime housekeeper. Paula Fichtl served as a live-in housekeeper in Vienna and later accompanied the Freud family to London on the eve of World War II. Many of the artist's interventions are subtle and blend with Freud's extensive collection of antiquities. Locating the new works often requires consulting the exhibition guidebook and the room maps. One room has been converted into the artist's storehouse. The installation runs until 22 February and is included in the museum entry price.
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