A sculptural reimagining of hospitality takes over the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair

Mayfair has never been short on good taste, but lately its edge has been getting sharper. We meet the co-founders behind Mayfair Design District, James Malcolm Green and Anne-Laure Pingreoun, in the peaceful lobby of Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, as they reveal an exciting partnership coinciding with Frieze Sculpture, Frieze London and PAD 2025.

The Mayfair Design District began life in 2017 as a loose network connecting the area’s galleries, studios and design names. It has since grown into one of the London Design Festival’s largest cultural districts, relaunching in 2024 with a new commercial focus. The Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, meanwhile, opened last year as the area’s first new-build hotel in over a decade, housed within a sleek building by British firm RSHP.

Mandarin Oriental Mayfair partners with Mayfair Design District

The property's first joint project with Mayfair Design District, ‘Elemental Resonance – Nature Reimagined’, turns the luxury hotel into a living gallery until January 2026, with 15 artists and studios reinterpreting the four classical elements that inspired the design of the hotel’s public spaces (courtesy of Tokyo-based studio Curiosity). Green and Pingreoun have also curated a series of artist residencies, private tours and cultural activations, expanding the programme. Design buffs can opt for The Elemental Escape Art Package to pair an overnight stay with a bespoke gallery tour, spa access, and a tasting menu at Somssi by Jihun Kim.

‘There’s a natural connection to the four elements within the building,’ says Pingreoun. ‘We wanted to continue that narrative and create a dialogue between architecture, design and art. The hotel already acts as an art shell for guests to experience, so this initiative deepens that conversation.’

The exhibition begins in the lobby, where Studio Nucleo’s iridescent stools wrap vintage furniture in resin and carbon fibre, merging the archaeological with the futuristic, while Thomas Joynes’ brass Aurora sculptures echo the Mandarin Oriental’s signature fan motif. Nearby, Marlène Huissoud’s Black Sheep Cocoon Cabinet – crafted from silkworm cocoons varnished with honeybee resin – nods to her father’s beekeeping, infusing the air with a delicate aroma.

Guests checking in at the reception are currently surrounded by the monochromatic universe of Eleanor Lakelin’s signature vessels and jars, which recall artefacts unearthed from the soil and are crafted from horse chestnut trees (fallen due to decay) using woodworking traditions alongside modern tools and carving techniques. Beside the lobby for the neighbouring residences, smaller interventions continue the dialogue: Satyendra Pakhalé’s sculptural BM Karad contrasts with Nicholas Arroyave-Portela’s crumpled porcelain form, while Cathryn Shilling’s gold-fused glasswork Transition gleams quietly in between.

‘A sense of organic-ness overlaps with all the works we selected, creating a dialogue with the tranquil environment of the hotel. It’s a play on everyday objects, in a way. The perfect balance between beauty and imperfection through contrasts and materials. We collaborated with galleries and artists for the selection, so everything on view is also for sale,’ explains Pingreoun.

While the entrance floor’s selection feels grounded and resilient, when you descend the hotel’s green Ming marble staircase, the works shift into a more fluid register: Nina Casson McGarva’s glass rings and Zena Holloway’s gossamer textiles evoke the fluidity of water, while Gareth Neal’s 3D-printed SIO2 ‘1755’ vase, created in collaboration with Zaha Hadid Architects, explores digital craft through sand and code. Sitting next to it, Bertil Vallien’s sand-cast glass ships seem to trap fragments of colour and light.

‘A lot of the artists celebrate the chaos that nature can create,’ notes Green. In the Atrium Restaurant, a laser-cut timber vortex wall by Charlie Whinney provides a dramatic backdrop to pieces by Tadeas Podracky and James Harris. Podracky’s Morana Chair proposes destruction and reconstruction as a design language, while Harris’ Intersecting Bronze Leaf Shard fuses digital extrapolation with traditional lost-wax casting.

At the Somssi by Jihun Kim restaurant, Aneta Regel’s volcanic ceramics explore metamorphosis and transformation, their layered stoneware surfaces pushed to their limits in the kiln. It is a sculptural introduction to the brilliantly impossible flavours and plating by the South Korean chef. Downstairs, by the spa, Studio Waldemeyer’s glowing installations reimagine fire through parametric light, extending the exhibition’s elemental reach.

Coming up, amid the roster of initiatives proposed by the partnership, is a residency with Jemma Powell, who will create Time for Seeing, a study of London’s rooftops live-painted from the hotel’s terrace. From 11-23 October, guests can choose the Frieze London Art Package for VIP entry to the fair in partnership with Ruinart Champagne.

Mandarin Oriental Mayfair is located at 22 Hanover Square, London W1S 1JP, United Kingdom.