To celebrate the important role and accessibility of arts and culture, Opera Gallery London will present four public art sculptures– by contemporary artists Manolo Valdés, Anthony James and Seo Young-Deok as part of the Mayfair Art Weekend’s Sculpture Trail this June.
Through sculpture trails in iconic locations from Bond Street, Cork Street, Burlington Arcade and Berkeley Square to the tree-lined grandeur of Grosvenor Square, Mayfair Sculpture Trail offers an immersive art experience like no other, where the public can safely re-engage with the arts and explore both the temporary and permanent artworks on the streets of Mayfair. A free audio guide with commentary and information on each artwork will be available through QR codes and on SMARTIFY to allow visitors to navigate their way through the trail and connect with the artworks.
As a global arts enterprise working during the numerous closures of galleries and museums, Opera Gallery are committed to showcasing and curating projects within the public art domain. Opera Gallery’s public art initiatives have included 2020’s Mayfair Sculpture Trail, a five-month installation of Manolo Valdés whose monumental artworks adorned Paris’ prestigious George V Avenue, and most recently the spectacular digital public art installation by light artist Anthony James in collaboration with W1 Curates.
Situated in front of Fenwick in Bond Street, meticulous manipulation of the iron chains in Meditation 626. Each iron piece is welded together to become a part of the dynamic system of interconnectivity exhibited in human forms. While the material may be physically strong, the true strength exhibited is that of the human spirit. The work by Korean artist often showcases the suffering and decay from the experience of his family’s generation working in Korea’s industrialisation era.
Two more of the Opera Gallery’s sculptural installations are just a stone’s throw away from Opera Gallery, in Berkeley Square, where Manolo Valdés’ Infanta Margarita stands to interact with its environment. As one of Spain’s most renowned living artists Manolo Valdés finds inspiration from old masterpieces by the likes of Velázquez, Rembrandt or Goya, using them as a pretext for creating a new aesthetic. Monumentality in Manolo Valdés’ œuvre is well-suited to the urban landscape with the round and horizontal shapes that fit perfectly in the avenues and parks, as they soften the rectitude of street lines and building vertical outlines.
Further down on Bond Street moving toward Oxford Street is also a new sculptural work by Anthony James from his Ferrari series. Ferrari 250 GTO is an exemplary automotive specimen — the apex of power, form, function, and aesthetics. Its archival quality in copper is memorialised in performative stillness for it is no longer a functional archetype of raw power and speed – instead, this artwork lies in stately repose, stripped of its engine, stripped of its function.
The Mayfair Sculpture Trail is a Mayfair Art Weekend Collaboration with Art in Mayfair. Project partners include Cork Street Galleries, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, New West End Company and Westminster City Council.
More information on the Mayfair Sculpture Trail can be found on the website here.