A design collaboration between Tim Pyne’s consultancy Work and London group Alexander Boxhill has led to the creation of Jak, a new east London art gallery showcasing South African art.
Work has designed the ground floor and basement interiors for the gallery, in Charlotte Road near London’s Old Street, to create an “unintimidating, loungy” atmosphere, says a spokeswoman for the group. “It is a blank canvas for the art,” she says. The space features pale walls, exposed brickwork, a solid oak floor upstairs and flagstones in the basement. The lighting will be flexible.
Jak’s identity has been designed by Alexander Boxhill to reflect the multi-faceted nature of the gallery’s output, which includes fine art, ceramics, furniture, sculpture and photography. “The Jak ‘unit’ is slightly abstract to enable us to use it across different applications,” says Alexander Boxhill partner Violetta Boxhill.
The marque will be used internally on branded stationery, which will feature different textures on the reverse, such as wood-effect or metallics. “We want to build up a subtle picture of the type of art in the gallery, rather than give it the hard sell,” adds Boxhill.
Jak, which is curated by Joanne Parker, will show and sell its artwork. She says the logo is a classic signature which aims to create a sense of mystery around the gallery to entice the public inside. “The themes of the gallery will be constantly changing – for example, we are inviting a South African graffiti artist next year – so the identity had to work on several different levels,” she adds.
Jak opens to the public on 8 December.
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