The White Show at Flow Gallery

London is thriving with independent galleries showcasing the latest emerging and contemporary artists, one of our favourites in Flow Gallery in Notting Hill.

Flow Gallery currently has a beautiful little exhibition called ‘The White Show’ which showcases contemporary ceramics, glassware and jewellery that all work with the colour white.

Matthias Kaiser’s work tries to reveal his material process. He is interested in alchemical transformations of earth into stone and enjoys the diverse and accidental textures his ceramics build up while he works on them.

These miniature white pots are by Yuta Segawa. Segawa’s Japanese heritage is a primary inspiration and we love the simplicity and sense of playfulness in these works.

Do you enjoy visiting London's independent galleries? Let us know which galleries you get inspiration from in the comments section below.

Newport Street Gallery

This week we visited Damien Hirst's new gallery, Newport Street Gallery, which opened this month. The building is impressive in itself, 37,000 sq ft and has been designed by Caruso St John architects who recently worked on Tate Britain's revamp. The building was once a series of scenery painting workshops and retain an airy, warehouse feeling.

Rather than exhibiting Hirst's own work, the gallery will focus on six month exhibitions of one artist each time from Hirst's own collection. The gallery has opened with an exhibition of British abstract artist John Hoyland.

While the exhibition has been heavily criticised with reporters uninspired by Hoyland's work, we felt otherwise. The canvasses are vast, vibrant and pack a punch. We are often inspired by abstract works of art as their colours can be used as inspiration for an interior's colour scheme.

Abstract works like this can enliven a contemporary and minimal interior adding a splash of colour and character. Their boldness captivated us.



Inspired by Works of Art - Agnes Martin and Sonia Delaunay

We’ve been struck by two recent exhibitions at Tate Modern this month – Agnes Martin and Sonia Delaunay. While their work is clearly aesthetically different, they are united in their focus on colour, tone and pattern.

Agnes Martin’s work sits within a tuning point between Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism. While living in Lower Manhattan she met the bright young artists of the 60s like Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly and Robert Rauschenberg – they inspired her to start incorporating found objects to create assemblages.

She eventually turned to a more minimal approach, often using grid-like structures. We were struck by her subtly striped paintings, from a distance some appear almost monochrome but when viewed closer become alternating stripes of pastel tones. These muted tones are also very on trend – Tate has even created their own Pinterest board with interiors that follow an Agnes Martin inspired colour schemes!

Take a look here

Sonia Delaunay is well known for her exploration of dynamic contrasting colours and compositions, pioneering the movement ‘Simultaneism’ with her husband Robert Delaunay.

Delaunay was a key figure in the avant-garde movement in Paris and as well as fine art, she produced dresses, scarves, umbrellas, hats, shoes and swimming costumes. She also created some iconic and stunning carpet designs, seen below. Her focus on colour and harmony makes her a perfect artist for inspiration, whether you’re looking for a new bold colour scheme or to add splashes of colour into your interior, her confident colours would certainly stand out.

Her and Robert were influence by the strong colours of Fauvist artists and they tried to use these colours in their own work, with a greater focus on rhythm.

Masterpiece London 2015 // Part I

Masterpiece is one of London's stand-out Art & Antiques fairs. There were over 150 exhibitors with items on display that span 4,000 years of art and design history at this year's fair.

Did you visit Masterpiece this year? Let us know what items caught your eye.

Alongside antique furniture and works of art there were some pieces of jewellery on display. One exhibitor that really caught our attention was Veronique Bamps. Veronique has devoted herself to collecting European and American jewellery dating from the 19th Century to the 1950s. She had on display some classic pieces from renowned designers… take a look at the brooch below from 1966, platinum set with brilliant cut and baguette diamonds.

88-Gallery had some fantastic pieces of furniture and lighting on display. They are based between London, Belgium, Paris and Hong Kong so are able to source top pieces from across Europe and outside, particularly from France, Belgium and Italy. They had a selection of cabinets stunningly decorated with vibrant turquoise.

Another striking piece of furniture to catch our eye was this console table by Irish designer Joseph Walsh made from Olive Ash and glass on display from Peter Petrou. The piece is beautifully hand crafted in his studio in Cork and comes from his famous 'Enignum' series. He is inspired by his wild coastal surroundings in Ireland, the landscape he grew up with. He manipulates and bends the wood as far as he can, allowing its natural curves to come through creating undulating and sinuous forms that flow through each other. A console table like this would be a spectacular centre piece in a sitting room, especially in a country or coastal home where it could reflect its natural surroundings.