Chelsea Windows has returned for its third edition with KCAW (Kensington + Chelsea Art Week), welcoming a new star curator Bella Bonner-Evans this year. The exhibition sees artwork by over 10 exciting emerging London-based talents take up temporary residence in shop windows and inside stores along the iconic King’s Road. This year, the curatorial theme for the Art Week is NOURISHMENT, with the windows project focusing on nourishing the careers of noteworthy young artists.
“The project brings enrichment to the borough while offering vital opportunities to the young London-based artists who have bravely weathered the pandemic, in line with this year’s Art Week theme
Bella Bonner-Evans
‘NOURISH’. This year Kensington and Chelsea Windows are lit up with exceptional artwork by emerging
voices on the cusp of greatness. Budding collectors will find their next artist to watch, local people will see delightful surprises along their commute and all will have the chance to encounter work by London’s next generation of artists.”
This year’s prestigious line-up includes Layla Andrews who has just hosted a very successful solo show at SOHO REVUE, and has previously caught the attention of the likes of Barack Obama and Stephen Fry. Her semi-surreal and charmingly irreverent compositions feature anthropomorphic crabs, crocodiles and cowboys in unlikely dining situations often hanging out over a few drinks. There is something gently amusing about bringing her renderings into 28:50, a bespoke wine merchant, bar and restaurant on the King’s Road, as the works reflect back a rather distorted image of the contemporary diner. Her largescale crab and crocodile sculptural installation will bring an unexpected delight to the space, allowing those enjoying a glass of fine wine or a meal to marvel at the crustaceous spectacle.
Lifestyle boutique CHERRY MOON comes alive with the large-scale, vibrant tapestry works by painter, architect in training and muralist Georgemma Hunt. These beautifully painted pieces celebrate community, collective joy and shared experience.
Anna Choutova, founder of hugely successful curatorial project BAD ART PRESENTS brings her mini-jars of hotdogs, olives and delightful little oyster to FARM FETCH.
At LOVE MY HUMAN, Darcey Murphy and Henrietta Macphee’s charmingly characterful animal works compliment the pet-shop setting perfectly. Macphee’s talent for ceramics is unmatched, with her animals straddling a life-like uncanniness with a sweet sentiment. Murphy’s pastel works on canvas blend a delicate use of colour with expressive imagery of animals from walrus, to blowfish, to dancing swans.
LAVENDER GREEN FLOWERS features three paintings by Niamh Birch which celebrate domestic space, with thick impasto textures and an eye for the details that make a house a home.
The DESIGNER’S GUILD comes alive with the eccentric paintings by Rebecca Hardaker, recently selected as Director’s Pick by The Other Art Fair.
The beautiful textures of the garments in THE PERUVIAN CONNECTION are mirrored by turps Banana painter Karolina Albright’s pieces. Her work engages deeply with surface, creating abstract tactile realms for exploration.
At PEGGY PORSCHEN pastel paintings by Pheobe Boddy adorn the window, inviting passers-by in for a delicious cupcake and celebrating the sensation of eating. Creating connections across the borough, her work is also currently on show at STUDIO WEST nearby in NOTTING HILL.
Restaurant NAKANOJO brings together complex, detailed ceramics by Rose Sevink Johnson with Sam King’s hyper-realistic paintings, unmatched in their use of tone to create lifelike surfaces that trick the eye.
Finally, at KNIGHT FRANK we celebrate our city through the work of draughtsman Luke Adam Hawker. His linear pieces capture the essence of London and are all created on location.
Chelsea Windows 23rd June–2nd July 2022 Supported by Sloane Stanley
About Bella Bonner-Evans
Art writer, curator, and public relations specialist, focussed on platforming emerging talent across the visual culture sector. Bella writes for publications including FAD magazine, Art Plugged, Bricks Magazine, and Off the Block Magazine, covering exhibitions, events, news, and opinion spanning the London Art World and beyond. She works with a considerable network of emerging artists who she seeks to champion through exceptional and unusual projects. Her curatorial approach puts the quality, inventiveness, and ingenuity of the work first, spotlighting artists of all identities and experiences equally. @bellabonner
