Simon Heijdens inaugurates Now Gallery in London with a kaleidoscopic installation

For anyone else, throwing shade would be considered a negative. But Simon Heijdens gives it a noteworthy new meaning. His latest work, 'Shade', throws light and shadow onto the sinuous glass façade of Now Gallery, recently opened in North Greenwich, London. Heijdens designed an intelligent skin for the gallery's seven-metre walls, with sensors that react to the movement of the wind outside. It acts as a kaleidoscope, translating the random pattern of the elements into a light spectacle viewed from the indoor refuge.
Heijdens, celebrated for his dynamic, spontaneous machinations, was a natural choice for Now's inaugural exhibition. The gallery, designed by Marks Barfield Architects as part of a regeneration scheme around North Greenwich, commissions work that uses the building itself as a canvas. This installation follows on from Heijdens' recent project 'Phare no.1-9', comprising a series of hand-blown vessels, in which drawings appear in mid-water and are projected into the space.
Heijdens (pictured) designed an intelligent skin for the gallery's seven-metre walls, with sensors that react to the movement of the wind outside. It acts as a kaleidoscope, translating the random pattern of the elements into a light spectacle viewed from the indoor refuge.
ADDRESS
Now Gallery
The Gateway Pavilions
Peninsula Square
Greenwich Peninsula
London SE10 0SQ
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Based in London, Ellen Himelfarb travels widely for her reports on architecture and design. Her words appear in The Times, The Telegraph, The World of Interiors, and The Globe and Mail in her native Canada. She has worked with Wallpaper* since 2006.
-
Watch dance, music and film collide at a unique event at Abbey Road Studios
In this exclusive film, watch Abbey Road’s first Artist in Residence, Jordan Rakei, collaborate with industry-leading creatives to produce a dance performance in the hallowed Studio One
By Anna Solomon
-
Frances Elkins gets her dues at Christie's this June
You can soon take home a piece of the legendary American designer’s legacy…including a $3 million Alberto Giacometti sculpture.
By Anna Fixsen
-
The new Phone 2 Pro from CMF combines generous scale with true affordability
We explore the ins and outs of the CMF Phone 2 Pro, the newest device from the Nothing sub-brand that focuses on bold design and carefully honed value engineering
By Jonathan Bell
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park
‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom
By Tianna Williams
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the church
The American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
By Orla Brennan
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella Valley
Will Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
By Will Jennings
-
This rainbow-coloured flower show was inspired by Luis Barragán's architecture
Modernism shows off its flowery side at the New York Botanical Garden's annual orchid show.
By Tianna Williams
-
‘Psychedelic art palace’ Meow Wolf is coming to New York
The ultimate immersive exhibition, which combines art and theatre in its surreal shows, is opening a seventh outpost in The Seaport neighbourhood
By Anna Solomon
-
Wim Wenders’ photographs of moody Americana capture the themes in the director’s iconic films
'Driving without a destination is my greatest passion,' says Wenders. whose new exhibition has opened in New York’s Howard Greenberg Gallery
By Osman Can Yerebakan
-
20 years on, ‘The Gates’ makes a digital return to Central Park
The 2005 installation ‘The Gates’ by Christo and Jeanne-Claude marks its 20th anniversary with a digital comeback, relived through the lens of your phone
By Tianna Williams
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any other
Gia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
By Billie Walker