Arriving at Connolly in Mayfair, there is an immediate awareness of its subtle elegance. Whether you intend to source a work of art or an expertly tailored jacket, every aspect of the Georgian townhouse and its contents has been thoughtfully designed to elevate and inspire.
Established in 1878, the thriving British heritage brand has provided the leather for Aston Martin, Jaguar as well as the iconic Eames chair. Isabel Ettedgui, Connolly’s owner, fell in love with the historic Clifford Street building when she was relaunching the brand that her late husband Joseph Ettedgui had acquired in 2000. She swiftly commissioned the Paris-based architects and designers Gilles & Boissier to oversee its masterful renovation.
In recent years, Connolly has shown a series of thought-provoking exhibitions including those by Rich Stapleton and Alba Hodsoll but ‘Fenduq’ by Belgian artist Eric van Hove underlines their devotion to the automotive. Curated with art historian Clara Zevi, van Hove presents a series of exquisite replicas of car engines. One of which, a handmade replica of the engine Charles Lindbergh used for the first transatlantic flight, has just been acquired by MoMA, as Ettedgui reveals.
After van Hove and Zevi met by chance in Morocco, he decided that ‘she was onto something, that she was pursuing an intuition’. She runs Artists Support, an organisation that is helping artists to support charities they care about. A percentage of sales will benefit MAMMA, a charity selected by van Hove that preserves Morocco's modernist and post-independence architectural heritage. He believes that ‘philanthropy should be a core aspect of any meaningful endeavour’.
As described by Ettedgui, ‘”Fenduq”, by Eric van Hove celebrates the crafts and community of Morocco and traces it across the centuries, but interpreted with a modern relevance that reaches out to art and function.’ The sculpture exhibition opened on the birthday of her late husband Joseph, founder of the eponymous retail empire, who was born and grew up in Casablanca where he rode a moped.
Van Hove, who was raised in Cameroon, and is based in Marrakech, worked with local craftsmen on ‘Mahjouba IV’, an electric moped built by, and for, the Moroccan market. Ettedgui described it as, ‘a beautiful hand-crafted machine’. She continued: ‘His philosophy and practice challenge how the legacy of craft can be upheld in the face of mass production and consumption.’ It’s an approach that aligns with Connolly’s perspective.
Eric van Hove: 'Fenduq' will be on view in the upstairs gallery at Connolly until 19 April 2023. connollyengland.com
-
Classic New York restaurants for delicious food and inspired designFrom Michelin-starred fine dining to reimagined retro diners, these are the most emblematic (and easy-on-the-eye) places to eat in the Big Apple
-
Ten super-cool posters for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics have just been unveiledThe Olympic committees asked ten young artists for their creative take on the 2026 Milano Cortina Games
-
A local architect’s guide to AccraAlice Asafu-Adjaye, founder of architecture studio Mustard, describes the Ghanaian capital as spicy, colourful and loud. Here’s how to tap into its contagious energy
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintingsThe artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt 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 YatesLondon 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 LondonAlexandra Metcalf turns The Perimeter into a alternate world in exhibition, 'Gaaaaaaasp'
-
Sexual health since 1987: archival LGBTQIA+ posters on show at Studio VoltaireA look back at how grassroots movements emphasised the need for effective sexual health for the LGBTQIA+ community with a host of playful and informative posters, now part of a London exhibition
-
Ten things to see at London Gallery WeekendAs 125 galleries across London take part from 6-8 June 2025, here are ten things not to miss, from David Hockney’s ‘Love’ series to Kayode Ojo’s look at the superficiality of taste
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this weekThis week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this weekThe Wallpaper* team enjoyed good art, food and drink this week, attending various exhibition openings and unearthing some of the best pasta and cocktails that London has to offer
