Article by Gina Chrysanthou and Poem below by Amita Chatterji
Masterpiece, one of London's principal summer art fairs created a huge buzz at the preview on 24 June. Royal Bank of Canada was the main sponsor of Masterpiece this year attracting 40,000 visitors.
Masterpiece is an inspiring experience where connoisseurs, dilettantes, collectors and art lovers have the privilege of viewing and purchasing exquisite items exhibited by some of the world's leading galleries and dealers. In addition to the art show there is a daily programme of tours & talks featuring industry experts and fine dining options made available by Urban Caprice who host a number of pop-up restaurants on-site. As ever, there were some outstanding works on display arousing the interest of clients and celebrities alike.
Couldn't miss Richard Hudson's prominent ‘Adam and Eve' mirrored steel outdoor sculptures. Eve looked like a massive knotted ‘tuba' while Adam resembled a swan dipping its head deep into the unknown.
My mother Amita and I met husband & wife team TV presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford at the entrance to Masterpiece. Ruth told us it was her first time at Masterpiece and was keen to know what to expect at the show whilst Eamonn sat comfortably in a vintage Ferrari soaking up the atmosphere. It was good to see familiar faces Ruth & Eamonn who are a very warm and friendly couple.
One of the first noticeable pieces at the fair was ‘St Petersburg' a unique egg shaped gold leafed chest with different sized draws designed by Garouste & Bonetti exhibited by David Gill Gallery.
Antique dealers Wartski are celebrating their 150th anniversary this year and they had some fabulous pieces by Carl Fabergé and jewellery by Cartier. ‘The Fall of The Damned' a pearl drop and gold pendant by René Lalique, won Outstanding Jewel.
Robert Delaunay's ‘La Ville de Paris La Femme et La Tour Eiffel' painting depicting a 1920's Parisian scene spread across two canvasses, won Outstanding Painting at Dickinson. In keeping with the same theme, ‘Souvenier de la Tour Eiffel' an abstract sculpture by Joan Miró was also displayed at their stand showing two contrasting styles of art work.
Portraits of two famous female icons by Chris Levine were featured at The Fine Art Society. A modern portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II ‘Lightness of Being' with her eyes shut and crown jewels decorated with Swarovski crystals could be purchased for £65,000. On the same stand, a portrait of supermodel Kate Moss ‘She's Light' was selling for £75,000.
Symbolic & Chase showcased a superb collection of jewellery and objets d'art through the ages. Some of the pieces included were Cartier pearl & diamond ‘Cravate' necklace, coral & diamond ‘Serpenti' watch bracelet, Harry Winston cabouchon emerald & diamond bracelet, Boucheron Art Deco lapis & coral desk clock and, a special 114ct Symbolic Yellow Diamond.
A painting called ‘The Socialite' by Andy Warhol ($475,000) was exhibited in public for the first time at the U.S based Long-Sharp Gallery stand along with David Datuna's mixed media collage of Audrey Hepburn, swirly stainless steel/bronze sculptures by Gino Miles and work by Pablo Picasso.
Parisian jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels showcased their Heritage Collection along with latest creations including Le Maison's intricate ballerina clips. New York based jeweller Sielgelson exhibited strikingly beautiful diamond and gem stone pieces including a pair of pearl & diamond earrings once worn by The Empress Eugenie of France.
Didier Ltd displayed a most unusual variety of fascinating handcrafted jewellery produced by highly imaginative Italian artist/sculptors mainly during the vintage era.
Michael Goedhuis, a specialist in Asian art exhibited vibrant work by Chinese artist Yao Jui-Chung who works with ink and gold leaf on handmade paper.
Rose Uniacke's range consisted of antique furniture i.e silvered metal & gilt four-poster bed made by R.W Winfield circa 1860 to contemporary interior decorations.
Guests gathered at Steinway & Son to see their 600,000th piano ‘The Fibonacci' designed by Frank Pollaro elegantly handcrafted with natural Macassar ebony. The grand piano could be purchased for £1,850,000...if Liberace were alive he probably would have snapped it up on the spot!
Pascal Izarn's specialist showroom consisted of magnificent eighteenth century Oriental and European porcelain objets d'art and gilded pendulum clocks.
Linley's featured collection this year was ‘LIGHTSCAPE' showing how light affects buildings at different times of day. The three conceptual furniture pieces representing ‘Sunrise' gent's vanity cabinet, ‘Noon' city bureau and ‘Dusk' cocktail console stirred the imagination.
We savoured every moment at the Masterpiece Preview and visited Masterpiece again at the weekend to view more wonderful exhibits.
We returned to Masterpiece for the Neo Romantic Gala Reception on 30 June, a spectacular fundraising event supporting the NSPCC. Ruinart champagne kept guests merry whilst viewing the art fair and rubbing shoulders with London's glitterati. During the evening auctions took place and in total £1.2 million was raised for the NSPCC charity. Some celebrity guests we met included Sir Michael Caine & wife Shakira, Elizabeth Hurley, Naomie Harris and David Furnish.
Many thanks to the Masterpiece PR team at Golden² Consulting
© Article by Gina Chrysanthou Photos by Gina Chrysanthou and Amita Chatterji
Poem: Masterpiece Six - Chelsea
Two gleaming silver UFO's had landed on the circular lawn of the 2015 Masterpiece exhibition!
To our surprise we discovered Adam & Eve, who having been expelled from Eden and, long orbiting in space had now metamorphosed into big bulbous outlandish sculptures.
Many more fantastic discoveries were made at Masterpiece -
Paintings by masters new and old
Some traditional, modern or bold.
Porcelain pieces prefect and fine,
Jewels in abundance, quite divine -
Flawless diamonds, gems in every hue
Colours of the spectrum yellow, blue.
Objets d'art of all description
Books, stamp collections with inscription.
Furniture in shape of giant eggs
Glazed, pale gold standing on legs,
Elongated desk of smooth stainless steel
To own it, happy one would feel.
‘Lightscape' a range from dawn to dusk
Conjures up luxury, cocktails and musk.
Sound of a piano we could hear
A unique ‘Steinway' drew us near.
Plethora of artists represented
Works were beautifully presented.
Masterpiece is an exceptional art fair
To spot good design & items most rare.
© By Amita Chatteji
Amita Chatterji & Ruth Langsford
Above: Robert Delaunay's ‘La Ville de Paris La Femme et La Tour Eiffel' which won Outstanding Painting at Dickinson
Above: 114ct Symbolic Yellow Diamond and 'The Fall of The Damned' pearl drop by René Lalique
Below: NSPCC Neo Romantic Gala Reception at Masterpiece London
Elizabeth Hurley & Gina of Pukka PR Shakira & Sir Michael Caine
Amita Chatterji & Naomie Harris Richard Young & Gina Chrysanthou
Guest Elizabeth Amita Chatterji & David Furnish
Eamonn Holmes
Gina of Pukka PR with Chelsea Pensioners Tom and John
Please view Pukka PR's full collection of photos in the Gallery:
Masterpiece London 2015