A pop-up gallery in Mayfair considers the real and the fake
PLP Architecture’s 60 Curzon in the heart of London is temporarily a gallery

A new-build block of 32 apartments in Mayfair is launching with one penthouse open for viewings still in its raw, ‘core and shell’ state.
PLP Architecture’s 60 Curzon has interiors – including four show apartments – by Thierry Despont, the lauded French-born, NYC-based designer and architect who died in 2023. But property developer Valouran want to show prospective buyers not just the finished articles but the work-in-progress fifth-floor penthouse, complete with builders’ markings on the walls.
Christopher Wool's 'Rip Rig Panic' (2001)
Instead of showing the penthouse as a bare shell, it has a short lifespan as an art gallery. “Launching the building to the world properly, we wanted to do some events there,” says Alex Michelin, co-founder of Valouran. “We think it’s a really cool space, more arresting than a flat that’s beautifully done.”
This exhibition space is in stark contrast to the “chichi Bond Street galleries” nearby, says curator Lawrence van Hagen of LVH Art. The 28 works in his show Double Take examine what’s real and what’s fake, with a nod to the rise of AI.
Van Hagen has mixed pieces by established artists, such as Andy Warhol’s 1978 Shadow, Larry Bell’s untitled (eclipse) from 1981, and Albert Oehlen’s untitled from 2015, with newer pieces by emerging talent, including Brice Gilbert’s 2024 Fournez, and Wangshui’s Poiesis III from 2023.
The exhibition’s design complements the rough, industrial feel of the duplex. Mimicking its existing scaffolding, George Lewin Studio has bolted the works to support structures made from slim aluminium poles, so that viewers get to see the back as well as the front of each piece.
From left to right: Brice Guilbert's 'Fournez' (2024), Wade Guyton's 'Untitled' (2019), Andy Warhol's 'Shadows' (1978)
“A huge number of buyers have their own interior designers and taste,” adds Michelin. “It’s nice to launch some (apartments as) shell and core, as that allows the buyer to put their own stamp on it. They want to come in with their wives and create their dream home, rather than ripping out the marble,” that the developer’s interior designer has specified.
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Meanwhile, for the building’s common parts and spa, along with the four show homes, Valouran briefed Despont “to recreate Mayfair glamour”. The aim is to appeal to “a more discerning buyer,” says Michelin. “The world has moved on from conspicuous wealth, now, it’s more about stealth wealth.” Hence Despont’s art deco-inspired design details, from all the bespoke furniture to the leather wall tiles in the gym.
Despont’s art deco-inspired projects included the Ritz Paris and homes for Bill Gates and Calvin Klein. 60 Curzon is his only residential scheme in London, and follows on from his 45 Park Lane Hotel, which completed in 2011.
Clare Dowdy is a London-based freelance design and architecture journalist who has written for titles including Wallpaper*, BBC, Monocle and the Financial Times. She’s the author of ‘Made In London: From Workshops to Factories’ and co-author of ‘Made in Ibiza: A Journey into the Creative Heart of the White Island’.
-
How to be butch: Clark Henley’s sharp, satirical and playful manual is back in print
The 1982 classic, ‘The Butch Manual: The Current Drag and How to Do It’, full of tongue-in-cheek advice, is available once again
-
Aston Martin goes goth, ramping up power, poise and dark glamour with the new Vantage S
These moody images mark the debut of the latest model out of Gaydon, the dynamically focused Aston Martin Vantage S
-
After decades capturing the world’s fashion-set, photographer Johnny Rozsa picks up a paint brush
In his first exhibition of paintings, the New York-based artist celebrates the vibrancy of Tangier while rediscovering a familiar creative outlet
-
Leila Bartell’s cloudscapes are breezily distorted, a response to an evermore digital world
‘Memory Fields’ is the London-based artist’s solo exhibition at Tristan Hoare Gallery (until 25 July 2025)
-
Emerging artist Kasia Wozniak’s traditional photography techniques make for ethereal images
Wozniak’s photographs, taken with a 19th-century Gandolfi camera, are currently on show at Incubator, London
-
Vincent Van Gogh and Anselm Kiefer are in rich and intimate dialogue at the Royal Academy of Arts
German artist Anselm Kiefer has paid tribute to Van Gogh throughout his career. When their work is viewed together, a rich relationship is revealed
-
Alice Adams, Louise Bourgeois, and Eva Hesse delve into art’s ‘uckiness’ at The Courtauld
New exhibition ‘Abstract Erotic’ (until 14 September 2025) sees artists experiment with the grotesque
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintings
The artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
It was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
London calling! Artists celebrate the city at Saatchi Yates
London has long been an inspiration for both superstar artists and newer talent. Saatchi Yates gathers some of the best
-
Alexandra Metcalf creates an unsettling Victorian world in London
Alexandra Metcalf turns The Perimeter into a alternate world in exhibition, 'Gaaaaaaasp'