In Partnership With Cadogan
The meticulous renovation and revival of The Gaumont, a former cinema and theatre on London’s King’s Road, is an aesthetically and culturally significant moment for the Chelsea community. Under the guidance of experts at Cadogan, the 1930s building has now been reimagined by architects Studio PDP as a new commercial and creative anchor for the famous thoroughfare.
Artist Shezad Dawood outside The Gaumont on London’s King’s Road, with part of his artwork Cascade seen on the façade
Originally built in the art deco style by architects William E Trent and Ernest F Tully on the site of movie pioneer William Friese-Greene’s studio, the structure has been redeveloped as a ‘creative quarter’, to include a rooftop bar, a cinema, a pub theatre, a record store and an art studio, alongside further retail, office and residential space. Set on The Gaumont’s grand façade, in two parts, flanking the entrance, a major public commission by British multidisciplinary artist Shezad Dawood welcomes visitors to the new, reinvigorated King’s Road hub.
The Gaumont, with the two panels of Cascade mounted at either end of the façade
Having been selected by a local panel including members of the Chelsea Arts Club, the V&A, and Royal Society of Sculptors, Dawood created Cascade, comprising two, 6m-high panels of hand-sculpted ceramic work with multicoloured glazes, and serving as the building’s artistic beacon. ‘It reminds us that development isn’t only about new space, but about identity,’ says Hugh Seaborn, CEO of Cadogan. ‘Shezad’s work captures the emotional texture of the area: the cinema, the characters, the creative spirit that’s always defined Chelsea. It is part of a wider revitalisation plan for one of the world’s most famous high streets.’
Detail of Cascade in situ
A ceramic moon is central to the work, with inspiration spanning – as Dawood details in Wallpaper’s short film – from cinema pioneer George Méliès’ 1902 film Trip to the Moon, distributed by The Gaumont, to local hero Vivienne Westwood (who first opened a shop with Malcolm McLaren on King’s Road in 1971), whose brand logo incorporates an orb.
Film still of Dawood at work on the sculptural tiles for the piece
‘The tiles on the artwork are relief-sculpted. So they have a sort of a two-dimensionality, and then a three-dimensionality,’ adds Dawood. While the work evokes the trajectory of the moon, ‘in the daytime, as the sun travels through the arc of the sky, over the theatre, the artwork behaves like an organic sundial,’ he adds, describing an ever-changing dance of shadows.
Film still showing detail of the artwork during its installation
‘Cascade lights up the restored historic façade of The Gaumont and eloquently celebrates so much of the King’s Road’s rich heritage and the icons associated with it,’ adds Seaborn. ‘When we envisioned The Gaumont, we knew it had to […] feel rooted in the cultural legacy of the King’s Road and speak to the people who live, work and walk along this road every day.’
Film still showing detail of Cascade, mounted on The Gaumont’s façade
Londoner Dawood feels a deep connection to the King's Road artery, the Chelsea locale and the theatre itself. As a kid he remembers seeing the 1954 Japanese epic Seven Samurai with his father at the (former) Chelsea Cinema and also, later, a stint working at a King’s Road bookstore ‘Then there is the broader cultural importance of the area – as a home to various artists, writers and filmmakers – all of which informed my research,’ he says. ‘As an artist who works across painting, ceramics and film, I am so excited to unveil an artwork that draws on all of these disciplines for the façade of such an iconic building that was also a key part of my early cinematic and cultural education.’
For more on The Gaumont, see cadogan.co.uk
-
A first look inside Nike's vast Milan Design Week Air Lab: a celebration of the world's most ubiquitous materialNike Chief Design Officer, Martin Lotti, takes Wallpaper* on a tour of the new space at Dropcity – which will endure long after the design crowd leaves town
-
Los Angeles favourite BADMAASH gets a new brutalist-inspired hideaway in VeniceThe opening, with its tasty twists on Indian classics and artwork by Action Bronson, marks the Mehendro brothers' 'illest concept' yet
-
Sharp brutalist volumes and organic shapes collide in NM3’s out-of-this-world collaboration with VisionnaireFor Milan Design Week, Visionnaire tapped design studio NM3 for a capsule collection that blends the Italian brand's luxury approach with the practice's material-led minimalism
-
Phoebe Boswell’s ‘Art on the Underground’ dives into why the majority of Black British adults don’t swimAt London’s Notting Hill Gate and Bethnal Green Underground stations, Phoebe Boswell explores a complex relationship with water
-
For its inaugural exhibition, the V&A East traces 125 years of Black British music‘The Music is Black’ at V&A East Museum, opening on 18 April, is an intimate exploration into Black British music culture
-
Anna Park's new show at Lehmann Maupin in London offers a voyeuristic mix of the abstract and the figurativeThe South Korea-born artist confronts a lack of nuance in playful works which rethink vintage pin-up motifs
-
Out of office: What the Wallpaper* editors are looking forward to in AprilOur editors highlight what’s new, noteworthy and not-to-be-missed in design, culture and beyond this month
-
Daphne Wright casts her family in Jesmonite. Discover her works in LondonAt Frith Street Gallery, the artist explores a fascination with materials; when we visit, she tells us about the ‘sulking’ power of clay and her ‘very brutal’ way to make work
-
Painter-to-watch Joanna van Son puts a modern spin on the old masters at Saatchi YatesIn London, the artist’s rich oil paintings pay tribute to her partner
-
Cecily Brown creates immersive other worlds at the Serpentine: ‘I love the idea of getting lost in art’Cecily Brown brings her hypnotic blend of abstract and figurative paintings to the London gallery
-
Margaret Howell and Kettle’s Yard unpack Japanese artist Kenji Umeda’s sculptural styleFollowing the discovery of a long-lost trunk belonging to the artist, previously unseen works, clothes and correspondence go on show in London and Cambridge
