Curated by Jealous Gallery
Our art story
The Gantry’s architecture, brand marque, and visual identity (across interiors, digital and print communications) have all sought to express the dynamic contrast between Stratford’s formidable industrial past and its thriving creative future. As part of our commitment to Stratford’s creative future, we partnered with Jealous Gallery, a Shoreditch-based contemporary gallery and print studio.
Its curators have a widely respected reputation for un-earthing emerging British artists and giving them a platform. Our brief to Jealous was that The Gantry itself should become a hub for artistic expression within the local community. By taking this approach, we looked beyond the norm and collaborated with a variety of people who use different mediums to create an eclectic mix of art.
The unifying theme through all the pieces is the idea of contrast. Each artist represented and interpreted this theme in their own unique way, be it through the medium used, the technique or the actual concept. The chosen pieces were selected from a mixture of emerging talents and established artists, but with an emphasis on East London talent.
Sophie Smallhorn
Smallhorn’s work explores the contrasting relationship between colour, volume and proportion. The result is a dynamic and engaging sculptural installation on the walls of the lobby, contrasting both materials and colour. Smallhorn was a colour consultant for the 2012 Olympic Stadium, spending two and a half years putting together a spectrum of colours for the fabric wrap that ran around the entire stadium, as well as continuing the colour scheme throughout the building. The circular form and colours used in this commission nod to the Olympic Stadium, which plays a key part in Stratford’s past, present and future.
Andrew Miller
Miller is a British artist whose main body of work focuses on the portrait. He explores and makes use of the manipulative potential of Polaroid film for his collages, all of which are made by hand. Millar’s experimental work can be seen in the lobby of the hotel. It uses a distinctive collage process, meaning that each piece is unique. The contrast of mediums and materials used to create these surreal portraits, including gold leaf and polaroid film, embody the concept of people and contrast that is so inherent to The Gantry.
Joakim Allgulander
Allgulander has had solo exhibitions in the UK and internationally, and has also featured in group shows in commercial galleries and public institutions. His neon speech bubble is on the wall of the hotel’s main staircase, which leads up to the first-floor bar and restaurant, one of the social hubs of the hotel. The speech bubble literally ‘lights up’ and sparks conversation, while the neon light creates a stark contrast in materials, with the smooth bright lines juxtaposed against the raw concrete texture of the walls.
Adam Bridgland
Bridgland, a graduate of the Royal College of Art, uses a diverse range of materials and working methods to pursue an incisive and often witty exploration of distinctively British sentiments. Whether descriptive of change or constancy, Bridgland’s work delves into our desire to remember and relive, and plays upon our tendency to elevate our shared memories with the rose-tinted, wistful spectacles we so often don when thinking of the past, as well as the future. Bridgland’s piece directly ties to Stratford’s industrial past and its creative future.
Scatter Hangs
and Additional Pieces
Throughout The Gantry you’ll find a carefully considered and curated array of scatter hangs and other artworks, including an eclectic and diverse mix of limited-edition prints. Celebrating contrast through a mix of media and subject, these exciting prints reflect the energy and diversity of East London. Guests can also acquire limited edition prints from Jealous Gallery.
