Inside the refreshed art collection at High Road House

Located in west London’s Chiswick, High Road House combines elegant design with a neighbourhood feel. In 2023, its art collection had a refresh, alongside those at Soho House New York, Soho House West Hollywood and Electric House. The new artworks were selected to celebrate London’s evolving artistic talent, especially among the local members.  

‘It was a great opportunity for us to support London artists, and we really wanted to include works by artists who use the House on a regular basis, such as Sir Peter Blake, Sharon Walters and Maryam Eisler,’ says Jack Lazenby, Soho House Art Collections Assistant Manager, who curated the collection.  

The art within the House interrogates the traditional pillars of the art history – the figure, still life and landscapes – showing the diverse ways they are treated by artists today. The still-life room has a broad range of mediums and approaches to the subject, including artworks by Polly Morgan, Magali Reus and Michael Landy. Among the landscape artists are Tania Kovats, Levack and Lewandowski, and Paul Davies. 

‘It was very interesting to see how artists responded to these art historical categories,’ explains Lazenby. ‘Some were motivated to make commissions for the space, including Kay Gasei, Sharon Walters and Tania Kovats.’ This was also an opportunity to support some of the artists who have been part of the Soho Fellowship programme. ‘All Fellowship graduates Rebekka Macht, Grzegorz Stefański and Michael Gurhy joined the collection for the first time.’

The basement also features two mini collections: the Help portfolio created by international artists to raise money for charity during the pandemic, and a women-only selection of the original monochromatic artworks curated for the House.

‘The figure collection, which explores how artists treat the body as a subject matter, was incredibly interesting to put together. It involved established artists, like Sir Peter Blake, alongside emerging artists that I really love, such as Rene Matić, and juxtaposing how they see the body as a vehicle for their work. For example, there’s a photograph by Matić of their father, which is a very intimate look at masculinity,’ Lazenby explains. The theme of the body is also represented by a new site-specific mural by Alexandria Coe, created in summer 2023, with black figure outlines over the House’s signature white brick. 

The collection dedicated to women artists in the basement includes a lot of works from the original display for the House, which lets members enjoy some of the works they’ve appreciated over the years. The process of the new collection’s curation took around five months, with main spaces largely presenting newly acquired works. The installation had to take place while the House was open and running as usual – which meant that members were sometimes the first to see the changes. 

‘We installed it all overnight, which meant that we practically lived in High Road House for a week,’ recalls Lazenby. ‘We’d wake up, start at 2am or 3am, install a part of it, then go downstairs into the basement and catalogue all of the work. After that, we’d make sure everything was ready for the next day. The response from members was fun to see, because we were in the rooms when they opened up. We got to read their reactions live, which is something that you don’t usually get the opportunity to do.’