About

The Gilded City brings together 11 artists working with the ancient art of gilding. Set within the ornate Painters’ Hall, the exhibition and accompanying workshops offer a glimpse into the activities of the guild and the variety of skilled and boundary-pushing work being produced by the freemen and liverymen of the fifth oldest of the 111 livery companies in the City of London.

Gilding is a thread woven along the boundary between art and craft, and has been used for thousands of years. Developed as a form of both trickery and practicality, gilding makes it possible to imitate solid gold at a fraction of the price and using stronger and lighter materials.

The Gilded City brings together contemporary paintings and sculptures by artists Yuki Aruga, Polly Bennett and Ana Kazaroff, as well as experimental gilded patterns by Tony Roche and decorative craftwork by Ricky McPherson and Andy O’Connor. As the exhibition demonstrates, gilding can be used on a vast variety of surfaces, as seen in Ann Bowen’s paper-based practice of lettering, heraldry and illumination, or Jo Mabbutt’s specialism in the delicate technique of hand gilding antique lace and crochet.

The Gilded City also reveals the breadth of current practice, from Emma Witter’s electroplated oyster shell sculptures to Tuesday Riddell’s development of the nearly-lost tradition of Japanning. Unusually, the exhibition highlights the work of the framer as well as the artist, showcasing work by Derek Tanous, a master craftsman who makes, restores and gilds frames.

As well as hosting a significant art collection, Painters Hall is highly ornate, its magnificent interiors showcasing an array of decorative surfaces and masterful craftsmanship. The Gilded City offers a glimpse into this hidden treasure chest, while also revealing contemporary developments in a historic practice.

The Gilded (/ “Guilded”) City plays on the historical importance of guilds within the City of London, as well as drawing out the fascinating associations of gold. This celebration of the craft of gilding rejects the assumption that decorative surfaces are empty; each object in this exhibition contains a legacy of knowledge and skill gained over years of practice, threading a rich path between art and craft, the historic and the contemporary, ornament and essence.