Director’s Picks // Autumn 2022

As we move into the new season and the evenings begin to draw in, we sat down with our Director Kate Higginson to have a chat about what she’s loving at the moment. From candle sconces to custard, scroll down for inspiration and a sneak peek into her beautiful Hackney home. Kate has hand-picked her artwork recommendations too, including brand new affordable paintings by Benjamin Thomas Taylor and screenprints by Caroline Tomlinson.

Artwork by Ed Burkes

“I met Ed many years ago through my husband and have long admired his work. I have a few pieces in my home. They often appear on scraps of sketchbook paper which feels like a real journey into Ed’s mind. The sketchbook is something I love to look through when meeting an artist, often they reveal the truest work. The work closest to the mind and journey of someone. So this series of works by Ed feel very special, they feel very joyful and witty.”

“Jess Wheeler is a designer and artist based in North Wales. We’ve just partially finished renovating our house in London Fields and are at the stage where we can fill with things we love that will stay with us forever. I’ve longed for one of Jess’ oak leaf candle sconces for my bathroom for some time! The oak leaf is also a sign of resilience and strength which is something I needed in abundance when dealing with a challenging house build. I need something to remind me we survived the building works and it was worth it! And now with the winter nights drawing in candlelit baths are the only way to spend your evenings!”

“Kate Goodrich is another go to of mine this season, her instagram feed feels so tactile. Kate is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Hackney, creating unique works by preserving flowers grown by her own fair hands. We bought a piece from Kate a year ago and its one of my most treasured pieces. Although its moved around my house a few times, and I’m still not sure its in the final spot. The glass is antique and reflects the most beautiful rainbows so we’ve been trying to find the perfect spot to enjoy the work at its best. We will be welcoming Kate with a collection of works later this year to our gallery, keep a look out!”

Artwork by Kate Goodrich

Photography by Rob Murray

“Owning a gallery you would assume we have lots of artwork but we actually find it quite hard buying work for our home as we see so much we love! We also like to keep the walls in our house quite clear without overfilling so theres even more pressure to pick the right pieces. The photograph in the image below we bought in Paris some years ago at a small gallery in the Marais. I think we might have just had our first child and so superhero’s were perhaps on our mind. We enjoy architectural works and this photograph by Rob Murray spoke to us both. The raw grey brutalist building juxtaposed against the young boy. I still love to look at it which is the sign of a great buy.”

Photography by Rob Murray

Blue Lady by Simone Brewster
One off Original, £400

“I always want to find pieces now that everyone in our home enjoys, I was probably a bit selfish before. Now i want pieces that both our boys enjoy and that encourage conversation and thought. I have a lot of female portraiture in our house, I’ve always loved it and as I’m the only women in a house of boys I feel I need lots more women in the house to back me up. I also want to expose the boys to the female form in all its representations and art is a wonderful way to do that. Im about to hang 3 pieces by Simone Brewster in our living room as a trio. Her work explores the female mind and body producing a series that depicts the beauty, strength, tension and confusion of womanhood. The works are created with ink on paper and are fluid and gestural; incredibly powerful.”

Simone Brewster at work

“Our kitchen which was designed and built by our friend Martin Field (@martinfieldworkshop) is built from Norfolk oak and chestnut, a really strong warm colour. I’ve found that it really dictates the colours and artwork that we use in and around it, thankfully blue works well as its my favourite colour. My friend Kate (another Kate that I love!) is a ceramist and her label K.S Creative Pottery is one of her current favourites. Her blue striped works or the blue figurative pieces are on my xmas wish list, super playful and all handmade in small batches. I definitely need a collection of my pieces for our kitchen. I always check out her insta feed as aside from posting about her work she shares interior images which I’m hugely drawn to and they often inspire my choices at Print Club. Go follow her.”

Kitchen by Martin Field Workshop

Ceramics by KS Creative Pottery

“We went to Nuno Mendes’ Lisobeta finally last week. A Portuguese love letter to Lisbon the food is perfection! About 10 years ago Nuno held a supper club in his East London flat, having left El Bulli and relocated to London. I went with my dad and a friend and have longed since to eat his food. It was worth the wait! Try the egg yolk and pork fat custard, sounds horrendous but is mouthwateringly delicious.”