Christie’s Paris has opened an exhibition as part of its “Carte Blanche” series, featuring British artist and designer Marianna Kennedy, curated by the exceptional Tilda Swinton, a longtime admirer and collector of Kennedy’s work. The exhibition title, “Supersonic Mediaeval,” chosen by the British actress, effectively captures the essence of Kennedy’s artistic practice. For decades, she has reinterpreted the historical legacy of English high craftsmanship, reimagining its figures and stylistic elements with eclecticism and originality.
The installation, conceived by Swinton herself, transports us to the Spitalfields area, renowned since the 17th century for its rich manufacturing history – famously known for the silk introduced by the French Huguenots – and today a symbol of multi-ethnic East London, home to large Bengali and Pakistani communities that began settling there in the 1960s. From Spitalfields, Swinton evokes an atmosphere deeply rooted in England’s distant past and artisanal traditions, while projecting into the pop culture exchanges and contemporary cross-pollination that define today’s London.
‘Supersonic Mediaeval’ è un'idea, un sentimento, una parte dell'immaginazione dove l'antico e il risonante incontrano l'ignoto e il sorprendente.
Tilda Swinton
“Supersonic Medieval is an idea, a feeling, part of the imagination, where the ancient and resonant meet the unknown and surprising,” Tilda Swinton shared with Domus. To bring this vision of echoes and new possibilities to life, Swinton has reconstructed three small theatrical sets in the rooms of Christie’s prestigious Avenue Matignon location, evoking the style of Georgian houses in Spitalfields, such as the one where Kennedy has lived and worked for over twenty-five years.
Among the exhibits are the famous lacquered mirrors and consoles, reimagined as fantastical creatures, alongside objects in bronze and plaster. In the next room, the theatrical grandeur of the “good living room” gives way to a demystified backstage, where the pieces are presented under display cases, but without artifice, as though awaiting their proper unveiling. Featured on the walls are some of Kennedy’s paintings, which abandon decorative whimsy in favor of minimalist lettering, all playing on the self-evident power of the word.
Kennedy, who works closely with a select network of artisans on limited-edition projects, is particularly known in the design world for her series of mercury-silvered mirrors with intricately carved frames, showcased at the Luigi Rovati Foundation in Milan in 2023.
“My design philosophy involves a constant search for renewal – seeing the poetic quality of craftsmanship, the pleasure of doing things well, patiently creating beauty layer by layer,” she explains. For someone who rejects the notion of a clear boundary between art and design, the work of Carlo Scarpa remains a constant source of inspiration – Kennedy has fully embraced Scarpa’s belief that “the only way to respect the past is to be eminently contemporary” – along with the design explorations of 20th-century art giants, notably Alberto Giacometti.
In this light, Kennedy’s atmospheric tribute transcends a nostalgic vision of her Spitalfields, breaking beyond the codified boundaries of British decorative arts to incorporate, with great freedom, truly diverse influences – from Etruscan art to the modernism of Eileen Gray. It’s a way of harmonizing with the inherent contemporaneity of London, balancing ancient localisms with new globalities.
Opening image: Marianna Kennedy and Tilda Swinton in conversation on the exhibition “Supersonic Mediaeval”, at Marianna Kennedy's home in Spitalfields, London. © Lucinda Douglas-Menzies