They are considered influential gallery owners in the global art market: Manuela and Iwan Wirth do not only deal in art, but also in experiences. Hauser & Wirth Somerset on the outskirts of Bruton is among their most beautiful and successful projects. 

Durslade Farm - Belongs from the 18th century becomes an art center

The couple originally came to the area in 2006 looking for a weekend home, found a farmhouse with fields around it, and decided to move their residence from London to Bruton to give themselves and their four children a life in the countryside. It wasn't until many years later that they began transforming a nearby 18th-century farmstead, long abandoned but listed, into an arts center. Formerly a model farm, Durslade Farm became a mixed-use project that includes gallery space, a restaurant, guest house and farm store, as well as exhibitions, events, panel discussions and learning activities. 

To this day, the 400-acre Durslade Farm is a working farm with sheep, cattle, fruit trees and vineyards. When you park your car on the outskirts of Bruton, all you see at first are a few rather unspectacular old stone houses. But then, standing on a well-kept lawn in the courtyard, is an imposing, almost three-meter-tall, young and strong black woman in common leisure wear with her cell phone in her hand. It is the bronze "Reaching Out" by British artist Thomas J Price, which makes it abruptly clear that this is no ordinary farm.  

The meticulously restored stables, sheds and barns house five spacious and light-filled galleries, a fantastic farm store and the casual Roth Bar & Grill restaurant, while the former manor house has been turned into a guesthouse, with lounges, rooms and bathrooms designed in the most beautiful shabby chic and - although bookable like a hotel - giving the impression of a slightly eccentric private home filled with contemporary art. Durslade Farm is a total work of art and at the same time a deeply inclusive place that appeals even to people who have nothing to do with art.

Artistic diversity

You can come with children, grandparents or friends, walk along meandering gravel paths through a sea of grasses and flowers beautifully laid out by Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf, sit down in the light-and-air-filled garden pavilion designed by Chilean architect Smiljan Radić, eat a Wagyu burger with meat from the farm's own cattle in the restaurant, buy homemade plum jam or a wrought-iron butter knife in the store. Parties are often held at the art farm, where the whole village gathers among outdoor artworks, and if you order a House Negroni at the Roth Bar in the early evening, you'll be hard-pressed to miss the fact that it, too, is a genuine art piece - created by Björn and Oddur Roth, son and grandson of Swiss artist Dieter Roth. 

However, it would be a shame to disregard the ongoing exhibitions. Beginning in early June, a group exhibition featuring more than 20 artists-including Pipilotti Rist, Jason Rhodes, and Richard Jackson-will take over galleries and gardens.

"We see Hauser & Wirth Somerset as a single, cohesive entity; everything that happens there is part of one big whole," says Iwan Wirth (from "Beyond the Town, Conversations of Art and Land," Hauser & Wirth Publishers). The concept seems to be working: More than a million visitors have already visited Durslade Farm since it opened in 2014 - that's more than the Hauser & Wirth galleries in Zurich and London combined can boast. 

hauserwirth.com