rethink sustainability
The CLIC® Chronicles - a meeting of minds with Carpenters Workshop Gallery: Loïc Le Gaillard on the intersection of art and sustainability
Operating at the intersection of art and design, Carpenters Workshop Gallery works to rethink contemporary creativity by curating a portfolio of extraordinary functional artworks by a collective of 25 renowned artists. In 2019, Carpenters Workshop Gallery formed a partnership with Lombard Odier to present DYSFUNCTIONAL, an exhibition created for that year’s Venice Biennale Arte festival. We recently dropped in to Ladbroke Hall – the collective’s brand-new London exhibition space – for a catch-up with our old friend and collaborator Loïc Le Gaillard, co-founder of Carpenters Workshop Group.
It’s been four years since Carpenters Workshop Gallery and Lombard Odier co-presented the DYSFUNCTIONAL exhibition in Venice. Why did you decide to partner with us, and how do you reflect on it now?
It all started when I became close friends with Frédéric Rochat [Managing Partner, Lombard Odier] and his wife. When I first met Frédéric, I was immediately inspired by his humanity, curiosity, and kindness. And when you have someone like that who’s a leading figure in his industry, you can only assume that his Firm has got to be equally pioneering and operates with integrity. This created a lot of confidence. And while Lombard Odier is a Swiss bank steeped in heritage, I feel it is forward-thinking, a little maverick, super curious, and experimental. You can see that they are incredibly serious about their work and we genuinely gel as we have similar values.
Read also: Carpenters Workshop Gallery And Swiss Bank Lombard Odier Partner For The Venice Biennale
We’re sitting in Ladbroke Hall, Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s new London home. Why here, and what is your vision for the building?
In the almost 20 years we’ve been running Carpenters Workshop Gallery, we’ve met an incredibly diverse, interesting, and curious community of collectors, many of whom have become long-term clients of our gallery and have been a delight to know. But all our previous locations have had fairly traditional gallery setups that tend to primarily foster transactional relationships. And, in all honesty, I no longer recognised myself in the way we were operating. The “flavour” that we offer as a gallery needed to change.
Julien [Lombrail, co-founder, Carpenters Workshop Gallery] and I wanted to create a space where we can celebrate any form of artistic expression while creating deeper relationships with our clients. Now, we can invite them to join us for a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine, and to enjoy something we’ve curated – perhaps some contemporary dance, theatre, jazz, or even hip hop – in the heart of Notting Hill, a location that was itself an important factor in our choosing to buy and refurbish Ladbroke Hall. It’s a rather fascinating part of London, where some of the richest people in the world live alongside some of the UK’s poorest neighbourhoods amidst a wealth of racial and cultural diversity. We wanted this to be a place where we celebrate diversity in a kind, inspirational environment.
Now that Ladbroke Hall is up and running, we feel that we can finally deliver the gallery “flavour” that is a true reflection of who we are and the values we want to represent.
Read also: Lombard Odier and Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Innovative Partnership at Venice Biennale
How do you feel about sustainability?
On a personal level, I'm very committed to sustainability issues and my wife is a sustainability activist, so this is very much at the centre of our family’s values.
We’re a year and a half into the process of changing how we operate as a gallery by becoming one of the first eco-galleries and we are currently pursuing our B Corp™ certification. Furthermore, we are changing how our artists operate as artists. So, any endeavour involving up-cycling or otherwise working from existing materials is something our artists will privilege. Nacho Carbonell, Stuart Haygarth, and Charles Trevelyan are all beautiful examples of this.
We will also make Ladbroke Hall available as a venue for any association that wants to host a sustainability-related event. We’ve already hosted Arizona Muse’s sustainable fashion charity Dirt, and we’ll be hosting ClientEarth in November.
Read also: Lombard Odier recertifies as B Corp™ with improved score
How has the world of collectible art and design changed since we last spoke?
People are way more cautious. And while sales remain great, the acquisition journey is longer. I think in the past there was almost a disposable approach to buying art, but a sense of a general anxiety in the world about wars, interest rates and everything else is making people more discerning and conscious of the impact of their purchasing decisions on the planet.
I feel it, and while I could wish for more momentum, I think such a change will ultimately be a good thing for all of us.
What would you say to a client who asks: why would I have art as an alternative investment when I could be investing in something more practical?
I would say that anyone looking at art primarily as an investment is buying it for the wrong reason. You buy art because it moves you. And you get to wake up every morning with a shiver of emotion, because you’re looking at something beautiful.
But that is why the relationship between gallery and client is so important. It isn’t for me to tell a client why they should buy something, and as a gallery, having a genuine and candid relationship means listening to their agenda. Is it for pleasure, an investment, or both? And if investment is a motivation, then I will tell them which artists, in my view, are currently generating the most traction and which I believe will be the superstars of tomorrow. Of course, I often get it wrong! But we at Carpenters Workshop Gallery have had the chance to represent some of the 25 most influential artists in the world for nearly two decades, which I guess you could call a good investment. Because, before anything else, they’re good artists. And there’s a huge level of scarcity. So, anything of high quality produced low, low quantities with innovation should appreciate.
Read Also: Lombard Odier and DYSFUNCTIONAL in Bilan Magazine
How do you choose which artists you want to work with?
The process of choosing a new artist is an incredibly important one, but it’s also rather simple.
First, and above all, their work must appeal to both my co-founder Julien and me. So we have a rule: if one of us isn’t feeling it, the other will not push it, because we have a lot of respect for gut feelings. If we both love their work, we then need to ensure that the person behind it aligns with our values while also having their own voice that says something profound and unique. Because at the end of the day, we’re storytellers. And every new story needs to be original.
What’s next for Carpenter’s Workshop Gallery?
I think our ambition is to continue working with some of the world’s most incredible artistic talents. Carpenters Workshop Gallery is lucky to be at the forefront of the collectible art market while being able to maintain extremely high manufacturing standards, which is a huge challenge in a sector where one big idea can require so many different skills to bring to life.
We’re also excited about many of the events we’ve got coming up at Ladbroke Hall and where we’d be delighted to meet some of your readers, such as our Friday night jazz series. Jazz is an amazing way to get people together because, like life, it’s improvised. We’ve already hosted some incredible jazz artists, and I’d love to see Ladbroke Hall to become one of the most acclaimed jazz venues in the world.
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