Lily Ackerman tells us more about 45 Park Lane's artistic coronation celebration

As you might have seen in our coronation hub on-site, many of our Walpole Members are marking this weekend's ceremony to crown Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla – and 45 Park Lane is no exception. In celebration of this momentous occasion, the art-focussed Mayfair hotel is presenting an exhibition entitled King and Crown by Indian-born, London-based artist Hormazd Narielwalla.

Narielwalla has created two distinctive pieces for the celebration that will be added to the hotel’s established art collection. These commissioned artworks consist of "The Pattern King" and "The Crown" which exemplify and depict kingship in the contemporary age, which have also been combined into one collage and reproduced into 70 large-scale flags placed around the exterior of the hotel.

Here, we speak to the exhibition's curator, Lily Ackerman of Ackerman Studios, to find out more about how she got into the art world, the story behind the pieces, and why Narielwalla was the perfect artist to mark this royal occasion for 45 Park Lane.

Walpole: How did you become a curator?

Lily Ackerman: I became a curator about seven years ago when my father, who originally did the curation at 45 Park Lane, became ill. I worked alongside him to keep things going. As he became progressively less well, I stepped in and took over. I’ve known the history 45 Park Lane since the beginning of my involvement in the art world, and I’ve continued to build my knowledge over the past seven years.

How would you define your curatorial process?

I am a big fan of contemporary works of art. I’m especially drawn to collages – anything that plays with surfaces, textures and patterns as these add such a unique component and a personal history to any piece. There’s something about creating something from lots of disparate parts that is so beautiful. And, of course, collages change over time, something which is exciting in itself.

When you approach curating an exhibition for 45 Park Lane, what are the values of the hotel that you keep at the front of your mind?

With 45 Park Lane, I think about its heritage and the artwork in the rooms upstairs. I also think about what is exciting now and what is happening in the news. I put something in front of guests that will evoke responses. It’s often a feeling - I know when something will be good and fits a space.

It’s also about finding something different that grabs your attention. Art curation caters to the personality of a space. Not many places can take the big changes in art we have at 45 Park Lane, but because the architecture is so strong in this space, it can hold all kinds of art. That said, it can’t take anything too delicate - a pencil drawing will not work here.

45 Park Lane is a lot more contemporary and design-led. It has a strong sense of itself and can take a modern look. It also has a very stylised space throughout and has an art deco vibe to it. Another artist that worked really in this space recently is Brendan Neiland.

What is it that attracted you to Hormazd Narielwalla’s work?

Narielwalla is incredibly engaging and has a quiet certainty. I was struck by his self-assuredness and his confidence in his practice. If you're working with an artist who's open and excited about showing you their work, it’s amazing. With this project in particular, it just worked from the get-go. I also had that feeling of wanting to touch everything, which is always a great sign!

What does the craft behind Narielwalla’s work entail?

Narielwalla came to the UK from India to study a PhD in fashion. He then pivoted into art, diverging from the fashion route, but his pieces still connect to fashion, especially since he uses sewing patterns as the canvas for every piece (these tend to come from Paris). They carry so much history about a person – really they couldn’t be more personal. The connection a tailor has with a customer for years and years as you grow and evolve as a person is stored in these patterns. But they often get thrown away! Narielwalla looks through hundreds and hundreds, and when he sees a shape he likes in the sewing pattern, he works on top.

Narielwalla then creates collages from the blank paper he buys, does massive brushstrokes on them, and cuts them into small pieces. It’s often the bits that don’t look perfect that get used. The random off-cuts you wouldn’t think would look good end up looking the most interesting.

Why is it important to be showcasing Narielwalla’s work around the coronation?

Narielwalla’s approach to this project has been incredible and he offers his own perspective on the event. There are many different opinions on the monarchy and the coronation, and including an artist like Narielwalla allows previously unheard voices to showcase their viewpoint. Like all art, you can read into the coronation pieces as much or as little as you want, but Narielwalla has brought a layer into this that could have been missed by opting for somebody without a background like his. 

Narielwalla takes a modern look at the monarchy. He is focused on the celebratory side of things, but within the realms of his own experience. He tells the story of power, regalia and accession through what clothing connotes thanks to his coneection to the fashion world. His pieces are about asking questions and allowing people to take what they will from them. 

> See how other Walpole Members are celebrating the coronation of King Charles III in our hub here.

Can you tell us more about the story behind these two pieces? 

Both pieces relate to one another and are very abstract. Across both, you can see the crown, the sceptre, the orb, and the robes - all accompanied by the royal colours traditionally associated with a royal cooronation.

"The Pattern King” is an abstract portrait of His Majesty The King on the day of the coronation. It uses different papers and Japanese silks, and the colour of the robes King Charles will be coronated in. The collage includes handpainted and stencilled ermine paper placed on a vintage French sewing pattern. Narielwalla has utilised the curved strokes leftover from the stencil pattern. The shape of the lines immediately reminded Narielwalla of somebody placing a crown on another’s head. And the face is intentionally not filled in because it represents monarchy and lineage as a whole, not necessarily solely King Charles III.

“The Crown” is divided into hand-painted purple and gold paper, which stands for the colour of royalty, and of course, our hotel too. You can spot ermine in the piece, which represents the Crown and connects the piece directly to “The Pattern King”.

It is these two pieces that 45 Park Lane will keep once the exhibition ends.

Tell us more about how these artworks tie into the flags around the hotel?

The art display on the exterior of the hotel ties in with the sense of royalty for the occasion. I’ve always wanted to work on the outside of 45 Park Lane as the exterior is so perfect for a large-scale display such as this.

What’s your next project for 45 Park Lane?

We have Joe Hummel coming up, which will be on a large scale. She does a lot of installation work and is creating a piece that will be hung up high on the internal slats at the hotel entrance. After that, we're doing something quite different with a furniture designer named Giovanni Ticciati, which I’m very excited about too.

At the end of the year, we’re curating a show based on Art Deco. I'm going for the vintage art posters all about the glory days of travel. I hope to get Steve Thomas, known for branding Biba, the London department store from the Sixties and Seventies. The exhibition will be a closer look at the connection between art and style from that time.

King and Crown by Hormazd Narielwalla will run until 22nd June 2023 at 45 Park Lane, London W1K 1PN. dorchestercollection.com