Not only did Mark Brazier-Jones design Christian Grey’s seduction suite, the Red Room in the movie, the film also features five of the furniture designs in the arch seducer’s playroom. The “Tally Ho” chair was customised especially for Christian Grey’s sex room and upholstered in rich green Italian velvet. The chair, available in leather and was bought by Slash from Guns and Roses and was covered by Gwyneth Paltrow for her Goop Holiday Gift Guide last December as the perfect Christmas gift.
The chair is regularly re-commissioned and bought by customers who have the budget and a dash of luxurious hanky panky to their living space. “It looks like an antique piece”, explains Mark Brazier-Jones, “It’s always a talking point for guests when they arrive in someone’s home and never fails to raise a few giggles.” Meanwhile, the designer’s iconic “Kissing Chair”, also designed for flirtatious conversation has been upholstered in a silk cotton damask names Lampas moiré Duchesse from Prelle, one of the oldest and most luxurious fabric houses in Paris.
For his recent show, Where Do I Begin, his subject matter aims to connect more to divine rather than earthly pleasures. Where Do I Begin, is an exhibition of new mystical sculptural pieces, reflecting the artists’ belief in in the alchemical power of art to transform the everyday. Embellished with crystals, esoteric symbolism and sacred geometry, the talismanic works have been crafted to bring the viewer into an increased state of enlightenment.
The two collaborators struck-up a friendship when Secteur Privé’s founder Ayman Daouk started collecting Brazier-Jones’ art. As a collector, Daouk found himself yearning to play a bigger role in nurturing artists’ careers—and to stage exhibitions of his own. Eventually it occurred to him that all the things he wanted to do were the basic functions of a gallery, while incorporating more organic elements, such as how to show the work to maximise the experience for potential art enthusiasts and buyers.
Following many conversations with his partner and co-founder, Colette Gibson, on how they could truly engage and excite fellow art fans, together they founded Secteur Privé. Having decided that nobody’s home looks like a gallery, they came up with the “living spaces” ethos that they felt had the potential to transform four walls into a memorable moment for artists and collectors alike.
While Brazier-Jones work takes the lead, considered curation of the living space concept includes supporting works by rising stars in the art world. The works of Talia Gochin, a young Iranian artist making global waves, whose work has featured at The Tate Modern, Art Basel and Frieze feature alongside Marcos Dove, who has recently collaborated with great success with Yinka Shonibare as well as Columbian artist, Mario Vélez.
To channel to energy of Brazier-Jones personal cosmos, iconic furnishings and venerable designs from Brazier-Jones’ four-decade career as an artist and craftsman have been transported to a luxurious central London apartment location. Meanwhile, new shamanic-inspired works take the centre-stage. Handcrafted ceremonial objects chime to charge the vibration, while furnishings from his archive provide the framework and context. As many of the artists’ chairs are luxury items designed for decorative purposes rather than sole practical use, plush sofas have been brought in for guests to perch and chatter among the art. Even the canapes and beverages offered to guests have been meaningfully curated, from botanical-infused cocktails and water that has been positively charged by the frequency of 528 hertz.
With every effort made to transport their guests to the world of Brazier-Jones, his new pieces entitled Manifesting Machines, channel the energies of the natural world. Designed as esoteric objects for deeper meditation and spiritual exploration, he has applied his knowledge of hermetic principles, creating art that is true to his authentic self. “I decided to apply myself as an artist/scientist to develop machines that might help us either communicate through dimensions or interact with the etheric forces”, he clarifies. “The collection consists of domestic artefacts that are both practical and decorative. Their function can range from structuring drinking water to acting as a background focus for meditation.”
For this show, he has created esoteric chimes that reproduce the 528 hertz frequency, that he calls, ‘Ding Dings’, for use around the home. “I also have ‘Ding Dings’ around the house and in the garden,” he says. “It is easy whenever passing to simply strike the chime and receive the benefit. It is like a reboot button to recentre oneself.” Each Manifesting Machine has been crafted according to a vibrational resonance, serving a practical purpose for spiritual or meditational practice as well as functioning as sculptural artefacts.
The career of Brazier-Jones itself has many ‘re-boots’ and periods of reinvigoration that mark his journey in British design. Following art school, he carved-out a career in the music business, as a set designer of pop videos for David Bowie, Elton John, Kate Bush, Spandau Ballet and Queen. While doing so, he met with a group of friends, including Nick Jones, Tom Dixon and later, André Dubreuil, with whom he co-founded a post-Punk, “Creative Salvage” movement. Their rough-and-ready approach to furniture from found objects and staging club nights in disused warehouses were the precursor to his finely attuned prowess as a handmade craftsman of furniture, lighting and design.
As testament to his contribution to design and making, his work also features in seminal museum collections around the world, Victoria & Albert in London, Museum of Art & Design in New York and Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as well as many important private collections globally.
