Where to find the hottest (and more affordable) art and fashion pieces from London’s new creative talent this Frieze week? Hint: it might not be inside the Regent’s Park tent.
As a one-off 2024 special, the Sarabande Foundation, the charity founded by Lee Alexander McQueen to support upcoming artists and designers, has landed in Mayfair with a “House of Bandits” townhouse as part of the Mount St Neighbourhood Arts Festival, and is full of young artists selling their wares. Expect “unique works of art by the hottest talent,” says Trino Verkade, its director.
I concur: it’s a veritable wonderland of imagination inside. From Daisy Collingridge’s strange, sewn rocking horse holding court in the street-facing bay windows, through to knitwear by London fashion hotshot Aaron Esh, embellished teddy-bears by the unique sculptor Dean Hoy and playful sugar statutes by Sophie Lloyd. Upstairs, a host of the most cutting-edge jewellery designers in town have been showing off their latest collections to a gaggle of industry insiders and clever spenders.
It comes off the back of a Dom Pérignon-soaked soirée Sarabande threw for artists and alumni at The Roof Gardens, in Kensington, last week. Notable guests included long time Sarabande supporters Eddie and Hannah Redmayne, high flying Hauser & Wirth represented artist Michaela Yearwood-Dan, costume designer Sandy Powell and fashion designer Giles Deacon. In a similar vein to the House of Bandits, artists took centre stage — Paolo Carzana, the fashion designer, crafted the tablescape while latex performance artist Electric Adam performed, and built plinths to showcase Pérignon’s new Jean-Michel Basquiat special edition bottles; the champagne label is a another long term supporter of the charity and its beneficiaries.
Head down to 5 Carlos Place, the site formerly home of Matches Fashion, to browse all the new works for yourself — and allow a few of the creatives involved to introduce themselves below.
Jo Grogan
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Woodcarver and sculptor, jogrogan.com
My practice is where past meets present, a focus of generational craftsmanship whilst questioning notions of taste, nostalgia and humour, with a touch of Scouse decadence. I’ll be featuring my piece “Best Chair” along with all the other amazing works by both past and present Sarabande artists during the pop-up. I’ll be there in person at points have a chat about the works on display, and offer hugs to any willing participants.
Stephen Akpo
Painter, @stephen_akpo
I paint distorted memories intertwined with melancholy and optimism. This is done in my expressive style which is a mixture of abstract and figuration, using oil paint. I am partially-sighted and use my hands alongside a paintbrush. It’s a very personal process, emotionally and physically. Coming down to see us will offer a great insight into how the Sarabande Foundation thinks and also operates. It is also a great opportunity to meet the artists that they cultivate and support, and you can experience beautiful artistry.
Mairi Millar
Jeweller, @mairimillar
My work explores the beauty of nature’s discarded and “collaborating with chance”, creating work from found natural objects. Carpenter bee wings, bones, feathers... My practice through jewellery takes forgotten or ‘finished' objects and elevates them to the state of a relic. I will be highlighting my one-off pieces at the pop-up, as I work with found materials each piece is unique. Flies cast into a silver necklace, gems backed with beetle wings. Sarabande is special in that no two practices are alike. Visitors will experience a curated selection of wildly different approaches to art and design.
