Ahead of the Art & Design Sale on 27th October, Cheffins worked with Jermaine Gallacher, the rising star of the interiors world to create The Jermaine Gallacher Edit, featuring his top choices of items culminating in a series of curated images to be showcased in this exciting and important auction.
Jermaine Gallacher, interior designer, dealer, furniture designer and the ‘enfant terrible of London’s interiors design scene' selected his favourite lots from the Art & Design Sale, culminating at a photoshoot at his famed Lant Street studio. As part of the project, Jermaine Gallacher has given his thoughts as to why certain items caught his eye and were his top picks from the 655-lot sale.
He comments: “Having always been a market man I was excited if somewhat nervous when I was asked by Cheffins to select my favourite pieces for their upcoming Art and Design sale. It turns out I needn't have worried my pretty little head, buying at auctions is super fun and a whole lot more civilised without the 4am starts. Timings aside there are plenty of other perks to buying at auctions. There is the comforting knowledge that you're buying from hardened experts and there is of course the glamour of the auction in action. But perhaps the best bit is really getting to see and study the pieces that take your fancy. What I particularly love about this Art and Design sale is basically anything goes; all sorts of weird and wonderful things are up for grabs.”
Brett Tryner, Director at Cheffins Fine Art Auctioneers says: “Working with Jermaine allowed us to tap into his individual sense of style and really show off some of the more unusual pieces in the Art & Design sale and see how they can complement one another. Jermaine really is at the top of his game as part of the London interior design scene, with some fabulous projects under his belt as well as being one Matches Fashion’s first homeware innovator. This has allowed us to speak to a new audience, including younger buyers who perhaps wouldn’t think to shop at auctions in the first instance. Lant Street is a fabulous location and created a great backdrop for some of the Art & Design lots, and Jermaine’s talent for mixing and matching styles and eras has really brought these pieces to life.”
The Jermaine Gallacher Edit – The List
Here, Jermaine Gallacher gives his top lots and his reasons for choosing them.
Lot 176 – A wirework model of a knight on horseback (estimate £100 - £150), Lot 250 – a Lota sofa, after Eileen Gray (estimate £500 - £1,000) and Lot 219 Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson burr oak coffee table (estimate £400 - £600)
“For me, this handsome wire knight straddling a wire horse really stole the show. What I love so much about this piece is its total one off, offbeat vibe. Sculptural works like this add instant intrigue and artistry to any room. I am pretty decisive and instinctive when it comes to seeing something I want. I tend to mentally group things together. For example, when I saw the Eileen Grey Lota sofa I was already pairing it with the Mouseman Table. I find it helps to imagine how things will work together when you're buying for your home. To my mind interiors and especially furniture are all about how one thing elevates and complements another.”
Lot 406 – A group of three unframed works showing scissors, a corkscrew and spanners by Shirley Teed, dated 1977 (estimate £100 - £200)
“Often art can seem intimidating. I didn't hang anything in my flat for years for fear of getting it wrong, but the truth is you really can't get it wrong if you just buy what catches your eye. Shirley Teeds paintings of screws and spanners caught mine. I really like the mundane subject matter. It's also worth noting artworks are great conversation starters, even if they are just paintings of screws.”
Lot 254 – Alvar Aalto for Artek, four model 62 chairs (estimate £500 - £1000, to include a dining table)
“Conversation starters aside, sometimes you just need good old-fashioned quality and nothing screams quality to my mind more than a set of Alvar Alto chairs. What I love about Alto chairs is they work well around all types of tables from any era.”
Lot 253 – A Token Works Queensland small oak dining table, Betty Joel, 1934 (estimate £200 - £300)
“I paired the Alvar Aalto chairs with this table, smaller dining tables like this one also double up nicely as desks or even pushed against the wall and used as a console. Mixing pieces that are multifaceted is the trick if, like me, you live in a tiny flat.”
Lot 117 – Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson, an oak pen tray and oak ashtray (estimate £150 - £250)
“These Robert Mouseman pieces are some of my favourite pieces in the sale. They are spectacularly charming and have a brilliant history. I was very taken with the Mousy desk set and ashtray; they are the sort of things that would instantly cheer you up every time you used them.”
Lot 43 and Lot 44 – Robert Wallace Martin for Martin Brothers, stoneware face jugs (estimates £3,000 - £4,000 apiece)
“Charm and fun are two of my favourite design principles. They are traits I most admire in a person so it's only natural I should want the same in a chair or jug. So when I saw the Martin Brothers Jugs I was truly tickled not least because they are totally ghastly. But like all great ghastly things with bags of character they never fail to charm me. Irreverence and touch of ghastliness can really lighten the mood in a world where we are all in danger of taking ourselves far too seriously. I think it's much needed, especially at home.”
Lot 311 – a set of six ‘King Costes’ style chairs in the manner of Philippe Starck (estimate £150 - £250), Lot 185 - Luca Bergo, Claudio Naro and Patrizia Peracchio for Fontana Arte, a Morgana floor lamp, 1991 (estimate £400 - £600), Lot 310 - A large terracotta pot, probably French 18th/19th century (estimate £200 - £400), Lot 201 - An Arts & Crafts walnut settle, circa 1900 (estimate £200 - £400)
“I really like mixing up scales. The chair next to the oversized pot with the height of the lamp all look slightly absurd together but somehow it works.
This Arts and Crafts bench is pure elegance.”
Lot 204 - An Arts & Crafts oak hall bench (estimate £150 - £250), Lot 491 – ‘Lipstick’ by Jo Brocklehurst, dated 1983 (estimate 300 - £500)
“I really love this 1980s drawing. It reminds me of a picture my mum had in our flat when I was child. The heart cut out detail in this perfectly formed and the little bench is so typically arts and crafts.”
Lot 137 – limited edition sculpture of an elephant by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, 1972 (estimate £300 - £500)
“I simply love elephants, especially postmodernist ones!”
Lot 9 - In the manner of Whitefriars, a large amber glass hurricane lamp (estimate £80 - £120)
“This orange vase is particular fabulous, I love the chunky bubbly glass”
Photography for the project was by Boz Gagovski.
Auction: The Art & Design Sale – 27th October
Location: Cheffins, Clifton House, 1-2 Clifton Road, Cambridge, UK, CB1 7EA
To view the auction catalogue, visit www.cheffins.co.uk or contact the Cheffins Fine Art department on t: 01223 213343, e: fine.art@cheffins.co.uk