Sir David Adjaye Opens Carpenters Workshop Gallery

Words by

Sphere Editors

28th April 2023

The long-awaited Carpenters Workshop Gallery at Ladbroke Hall opened last night in west London, with architect Sir David Adjaye providing monumental works in bronze for its inaugural show.

Sir David Adjaye at the new London flagship of Carpenters Workshop Gallery with work from his show Monoforms, Yaawa Collection

Last night saw the launch of West London's most significant new cultural hub, Ladbroke Hall. The global flagship for Carpenters Workshop Gallery, it opened its doors last night with two exhibitions — Yaawa, showcasing Sir David Adjaye’s latest bronze furniture monoform objects (one table is on sale for £300,000). The other, Denuncia, sharing the evolution of work by the late Brazilian architect, sculptor and designer Jose Zanine Caldas.

ADJAYE Small round dining table at Carpenters Workshop Gallery — by Sir David Adjaye OM OBE RA courtesy of Carpenters Workhop gallery

Small round dining table, from Yaawa. The collection features eight limited-edition bronze objects that reflect Adjaye’s recent experimentation with his ongoing Monoform series while also delving into the materiality of bronze.

Ladbroke Hall, though, has wider ambitions for its scope than as simply a gallery. Once the vast 43,000 square foot building is completed in time for Frieze in late September 2023, the plan is for it to become a nucleus to unite both the global art community and local creatives in a convivial space. An Italian restaurant is underway, with Gambero Rosso’s 2020 Chef of the Year winner Emanuele Pollini at the helm. A stunning garden by Chelsea Flower Show winner Luciano Giubbilei is also in progress, and is set to open later in the summer.

Sir David Adjaye 'Yaawa' at Carpenters Workshop Gallery

The collection’s name Yaawa, says British Ghanaian architect Sir David Adjaye means “bronze” in Twi, one of the indigenous Ghanaian languages

The renovated building is housed in a Grade II-listed site, originally built in 1903 as the home to the Sunbeam Talbot Motor Company. The building has two sections: Carpenters Workshop Gallery will showcase collectible designs, while Ladbroke Hall will be the main hub of activity. David Adjaye's architecture practise is also adding a “design chapel” to the building which will open in 2025.

Loïc Le Gaillard, who founded Carpenters Workshop Gallery alongside Julien Lombrail in 2006 told Forbes, “There is an appetite to look for more experiential spaces. We wanted to have a place where we can welcome the designers we work with on a non-transactional basis. We want to engage with this beautiful community...over a glass of wine, some pasta, a little theater."

Jose Zanine Caldas is showcased at Carpenters Workshop Gallery until June 10.

While Lombrail and Le Gaillard have Carpenters Workshop Gallery outposts in Paris, New York, and Los Angeles its clear this venture is the spiritual home for their gallery. At its centre, Ladbroke Hall’s vision includes a community program with collaborations with established local artists and youth initiatives in art, design, music and foos for both education and mentoring opportunities. In June the gallery will showcase work by the renowned 'Buffalo' fashion photographer, Jamie Morgan.

Which is fitting, given the Buffalo movement began in the streets of Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove, moments from the building. In the meantime, take the time to visit this extraordinary space for the building itself, and for the eight works by Adjaye, created specifically for the launch, which continue the architect’s experimentation with bronze monoform through hand casting, oxidizing, patinating and polishing.