How Artists Can Help to Tell Brand Stories in Restaurants

4 Min Read By Jonathan Kenyon

One of the most famous examples of an artist-restaurant collaboration is Damien Hirst’s Pharmacy in London. It was an art world phenomenon in the 1990s, with visitors including global superstars David Bowie and Madonna, who came to experience interiors designed by Hirst which even included a number of his major works. The restaurant was opened in collaboration with Matthew Freud, Liam Carson of the Groucho Club and Momo’s, and Jonathan Kennedy, one of the founders of Quo Vadis. Its convincing pharmaceutical appearance even led to threats of legal action by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society for misleading the public and prompted one woman to call Pharmacy to ask if they had any aspirin. Pharmacy closed in 2003, but its legend lives on.

It’s easy to question whether artists and restaurant brands are two worlds forever divided by different values, or if they are meant to work together with the potential for a positive relationship.

Andy Warhol would have been proud. He famously…