Non-Yankee Doodles

A British gallery mounts a show of napkin art

June 27, 2007—It's been called "Picasso Napkin Syndrome": The idea that once an artist gets famous, even his half-assed lunchtime doodles become collector's items. Turns out it's also a great British tradition—urban legend has it that London's phallic "gherkin" building began on lunch linens. And now London curator Jacki Lang has asked 42 artists, designers, and architects to create their own napkin-based work. "I mailed them all a 9 x 9-inch square and told them to leave it in the corner of their studio and fill it when inspiration struck," she explains. "I'm fascinated by that kind of spontaneous thought. With designers and artists, you never get a chance to see their handwriting, what their initial ideas look like."

As you'd expect, the results were mixed. Jasper Morrison delivered a bare-bones sketch resembling the limited-edition Vitra chair he unveiled earlier this month at Art Basel, while conceptualists Jake and Dinos Chapman undertook a fittingly abstract study in beverage stains. One of the more original pieces came from furniture prodigy Richard Shed, who explored his napkin's "structural potential" by creasing it 12 times to create a clock. (Throw in a few mechanical parts, above, and it actually works.) All will be sold at a postshow auction to benefit British food charities. And potential bidders can rest easy: The contributors are all Brits, meaning Dash Snow was not asked to contribute.

The Napkin Project, June 28–July 13, The Gallery, 125 Charing Cross Road, London, 011-44-0-207-287-1779, www.napkinproject.co.uk/exhibition.html