Alberto Giacometti and Francis Bacon had a decisive influence on the art of the twentieth century, and their works are considered to be among the most valuable cultural objects of our time. In 2018, the Fondation Beyeler in Basel showed the first-ever museum retrospective devoted to these two artists, illuminating various aspects of their relationship. Different as their art may initially appear, this joint presentation of their work revealed many surprising similarities.

Both artists worked obsessively in cramped, modest studios that were the centre of their physical and imaginative worlds. As part of this exhibition, we created a multimedia projection giving visitors a glimpse inside the legendary studios of these two artists. Both installations displayed the studios in their actual size. The Francis Bacon installation was projected wholly on the floor, giving viewers a birds-eye view of the cluttered studio. A film of Giacometti’s studio was projected on two corner walls and the floor. Both reconstructions were made using photographs taken while the two artists were still alive and working.

Chaos for me breeds images. _ Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon moved into 7 Reece Mews in London in 1961 and lived there until his death in 1992. Located above two garages, the modest space was divided between a small flat and the studio, which measured only 43 square meters. The space was chaotic and its floor covered with books, photographs and magazines, which Bacon used as inspiration for his paintings. He would mix colours on the walls. The shabby furniture accommodated a huge array of cans, paint and brushes. Only his closest friends were allowed to visit him there.

Giacometti’s studio in Montparnasse, Paris where he lived from 1927 until his death 1966, was less than 25 square metres. It is here that Giacometti set himself the impossible task of achieving perfection in images based on his perception of reality. Not only was the studio filled with finished sculptures but also the endless ghosts of failed plaster figures, scraped and repainted canvases, and abandoned drawings. This was the centre of Giacometti’s world and a magnet for artists and writers.