The Gathering at sketch: Jonathan Baldock Transforms the Gallery with a Joyful New Installation

London’s cultural landscape is defined by spaces that blur the boundaries between art, design and lived experience, and few do so as compellingly as sketch. With the opening of The Gathering, a new exhibition by British artist Jonathan Baldock, the Gallery at sketch enters a vibrant new chapter; one that feels both deeply rooted in craft traditions and perfectly attuned to the spirit of London in 2026.

Opening in January 2026, Baldock’s immersive installation unfolds within India Mahdavi’s iconic yellow interior, continuing sketch’s long-standing commitment to presenting the restaurant as a living artwork rather than a static backdrop. Following acclaimed artistic interventions by David Shrigley, Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, and Martin Creed, Baldock’s exhibition reinforces sketch’s reputation as a pioneering cultural venue, one where contemporary art is not merely displayed, but experienced.

A New Chapter for sketch’s Ever-Evolving Gallery

Since its inception in 2002, sketch has embraced transformation as a core principle. Conceived as a space that mirrors the fluidity of an artist’s sketchbook, it has continually evolved through collaborations with artists, designers and architects, while maintaining a strong and instantly recognisable visual language.

Jonathan Baldock’s The Gathering builds on this legacy with a dynamic, immersive rehang that stretches across the Gallery restaurant. His intervention introduces an unmistakable energy: playful, tactile, and emotionally resonant, bringing together works from his Maske, Flowers, and Warm Inside (Cocoons) series. The result is an exhibition that feels both carefully orchestrated and instinctively alive.

Set against Mahdavi’s luminous interior, Baldock’s signature pops of pink, expressive textures and sculptural forms activate the room in new and unexpected ways, inviting diners and visitors alike to engage with contemporary art in an intimate, sensorial manner.

Masks: A Hypnotic Wall of Expression

At the heart of The Gathering is a striking display of 84 works from Baldock’s Maske series, encircling the Gallery walls in a continuous, staggered formation. Together, they form a rhythmic procession, almost ceremonial in feel, that immediately commands attention and sets the emotional tone of the installation.

Each mask is formed from clay, with rippling surfaces that suggest folds of skin. Carved recesses and protrusions hint at eyes, ears and nostrils, evoking faces that feel both familiar and strangely elusive. Some masks appear to express recognisable emotions: joy, melancholy, curiosity, while others simply whisper a suggestion of personality, leaving interpretation open to the viewer.

Variation is central to the work. Baldock experiments with coloured clays, painterly glazes and firings at different temperatures, resulting in surfaces that range from lustrous and polished to gritty and raw. Earthen hues sit alongside more vibrant tones, creating a visual language that feels deeply human, imperfect and alive.

Notably, Baldock often creates these masks without using a sketchpad, allowing instinct to guide the process. This immediacy mirrors sketch’s own ethos: a place where spontaneity and intention coexist, where creative expression unfolds in real time.

Flowers: Memory, Theatre and Transformation

Positioned around the bar and welcoming guests at reception, Baldock’s Flowers series introduces a more overtly theatrical dimension to the installation. These sculptural works draw on the artist’s personal history, particularly his relationship with his mother and her garden, transforming memory into form through humour, tenderness, and expressive abstraction.

Here, flowers bloom into faces and blossoms morph into bodies. The sculptures are playful yet emotionally charged, carrying the camp sensibility for which Baldock is celebrated. At first glance, they appear whimsical and light-hearted; on closer inspection, they reveal layers of vulnerability, nostalgia and quiet intensity.

Within the social heart of the Gallery, these works feel especially resonant. They engage directly with the convivial atmosphere of sketch, encouraging moments of pause and reflection amid conversation and movement. As with much of Baldock’s practice, the Flowers series resists easy categorisation, balancing sincerity with wit, and craft with performance.

Cocoons: Craft, Ritual and the Body

Suspended beneath the central dome, works from Baldock’s Warm Inside installation form one of the exhibition’s most striking focal points. These woven Cocoons hover overhead, introducing a sense of elevation and ritual to the space.

Created through labour-intensive processes of wool spinning, plant dyeing and basket weaving, the cocoons speak to Baldock’s deep engagement with traditional craft techniques. By weaving himself, quite literally, into practices that are thousands of years old, the artist creates a dialogue between ancient knowledge, personal memory and contemporary sculpture.

The cocoons feel protective yet exposed, organic yet architectural. Their presence transforms the vertical volume of the Gallery, encouraging visitors to look upwards and experience the space in a new, more contemplative way. In this sense, they extend the exhibition beyond the walls, enveloping the room in a quiet, atmospheric embrace.

Art, Design and Dining in Dialogue

What makes The Gathering particularly compelling is the way it honours India Mahdavi’s interior while expanding the sensorial and emotional reach of the Gallery. Rather than competing with the iconic yellow setting, Baldock’s works respond to it, amplifying its warmth, rhythm and sense of joy.

The rehang reinforces sketch’s role as one of the first restaurants to treat artistic intervention as a serious, evolving cultural practice. Here, art is not confined to a gallery context; it exists in conversation with food, design and social interaction, creating a multi-layered experience that unfolds over time.

There is also a poetic resonance in Baldock’s creative process. While the Maske works emerge intuitively, his Flowers and Cocoons often begin as drawings, balancing spontaneity with preparation. This duality subtly echoes sketch’s own identity: a place where the unplanned and the meticulously conceived sit side by side, evolving like pages in a living sketchbook.

A Must-See London Exhibition for 2026

With The Gathering, Jonathan Baldock brings a distinctive blend of craft, humour and emotional depth to the heart of London. The exhibition stands as a celebration of making, memory and human connection, perfectly aligned with sketch’s ethos and its commitment to pushing the boundaries of how and where contemporary art is experienced.

For visitors seeking London art exhibitions in 2026, or those interested in the intersection of contemporary British art, interior design and hospitality, The Gathering at sketch is an essential destination. It is a reminder that some of the city’s most meaningful cultural encounters happen not only in museums and galleries, but in spaces where art becomes part of everyday life.

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