Wednesday 08 June 2022.

Tuesday 07 June 2022. 6pm to 9pm SERPENTINE GALLERY - Black Chapel private view - Kensington Gardens, London W2. Around 400 folks on the guest list for this outdoor event, and thankfully no rain. Lots of big names from the architect world are here. Always nice to see JACKIE ST CLAIR ( ex Page 3 model and philanthropist). Fashionista DANIEL LISMORE is here, fresh from the catwalk at Buckingham Palace on Sunday. Rapper TINIE TEMPAH was here....In October 2021, Tempah presented the four-part Channel Four documentary Outrageous (Extraordinary) Extensions. Serpentine Pavilion 2022 "Black Chapel" by Chicago based artist Theaster Gates. The tolling church bell has joined the summer sounds of birdsong and tinkling fountains in Kensington Gardens, announcing the arrival of an unusual sacred space. Standing among the trees as a brooding black cylinder, this year’s Serpentine pavilion, titled Black Chapel, is one of the more sombre structures built for the annual commission so far, designed as a place for quiet contemplation, meditation and sacred music (and a bit of raucous dancing, too). “I want it to be somewhere where people can be together in silence, be with their thoughts and rest,” said Theaster Gates, the Chicago-based artist behind this year’s pavilion. “But it can also be an amplifier and a resonator, a place where great music can happen, where we can sing together and dance.” Part industrial, part spiritual, the pavilion feels like a funerary chapel built inside a converted gasometer. A narrow black boardwalk slices across the freshly laid lawn outside the gallery, leading towards a tall thin doorway cut into the momentous timber drum, beckoning visitors within. Inside, a continuous bench runs around the edge of the vast cylindrical volume, while vertical wooden trusses support plywood panelled walls, rising to a shallow domed roof punctured by a single gaping oculus. At 7.45pm we had the speeches. Complimentary Laurent Perrier champers, gin cocktails, gin & tonics and rose wines. The Pavillion is open to the public from the coming weekend. then 9.30pm to 11.30pm SERPENTINE GALLERY - afterparty - The Twenty Two, 22 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London W1. The Twenty Two, this new hotel with an all-day public restaurant and a private members’ club has only recently opened, so really great to be at this luxurious venue. This striking Edwardian Manor house is being redesigned into a Westside hideaway for creative cohorts, local residents and international guests in London. The 42,500 square foot property has 31 bedrooms and suites, including a mews house as well as an all-day restaurant and private members’ club. A DJ playing some reggae tunes in the background. Complimentary Ruinart champers, different cocktails including whiskey sours and espresso martinis, as well as lots of very tasty bowl food and canapés. A glass of Ruinart champers here on a normal night costs a hefty £21.

Posted 8th June 2022