Chevalet Arts Commission
Designing Atmosphere Through Collectable Art
There’s a particular kind of alchemy that happens when food, space, and art are considered as one. Not as decoration, but as a unified experience.
That was precisely the ambition behind the Chevalet Arts commission.
A New Chapter for a Cult Space
Formerly known as the Islington Arts Club, Chevalet emerges as something altogether more subversive. Helmed by chef and artist Daniel Farrow, with support from Matas Kardokas, who himself brings a nuanced understanding of the art world, the restaurant positions itself as “a solace for reprobates & rogues.”
Which is to say: not polite, not predictable, and certainly not forgettable.
From the outset, the brief was clear. This wasn’t a space for safe artwork. It needed pieces that could hold their own against a richly layered interior - deep reds, mauves, and an unmistakably edgy London undertone - while echoing the same creative irreverence found on the menu. Think sashimi with jalapeño twists. Unexpected, sharp, and quietly theatrical.
Art That Matches the Menu
At The WOWOW Gallery, we approach commissions as world-building exercises. The question isn’t simply what looks good on the wall, but what deepens the atmosphere?
For Chevalet, that led us to Jonathan Mitton.
Mitton is not an artist bound by medium. His work exists at the intersection of analogue craft and technological experimentation. Known for building his own apparatus to photograph and reconstruct subjects into lenticular 3D forms, he creates pieces that shift as you move through space. Which made him an ideal fit.
The Beauty of the Unassuming
The resulting works draw on an unlikely source of inspiration: root vegetables.
Beetroots. Carrots. Everyday ingredients elevated into something quietly cinematic.
Mitton’s approach was deliberately playful. Subjects were photographed in a contained, almost “boxed-in” environment, creating tension between simplicity and structure. The compositions feel both intimate and slightly surreal, as though you’ve stumbled upon a still life mid-thought.
His piece, Boxed Carrot Still Life, captures this perfectly.
In the long lineage of still life, from Dutch Golden Age abundance to the studied compositions of Paul Cézanne, this work finds its drama in restraint. A single carrot stands upright, vivid and linear. Alongside it, onions introduce softness, layers, and a quiet opacity. It is, at its core, an ode to the overlooked poetry of the kitchen. And within Chevalet, it becomes something more. It mirrors the menu. It reinforces the palette. It invites the same kind of attention the food demands.
When Art Becomes Collectable
The story didn’t end with the commission.
Daniel Farrow, drawn to the dimensionality and subtle movement of Mitton’s work, began exploring further pieces within the collection. One in particular - Programmed Fascination - stood out.
A hypnotic lenticular composition featuring a robot set against a swirling pink backdrop, it plays with perception and analogy in equal measure. As you move, the piece shifts. It pulls you in. It refuses to sit quietly. Which, in many ways, is exactly what Chevalet does as a space.
Beyond Decoration
The Chevalet Arts commission is a reminder that artwork, when considered thoughtfully, does far more than fill a wall.
It can:
Reinforce a brand’s identity
Deepen a sensory experience
Create moments of pause, intrigue, and conversation
In short, it becomes part of the narrative.
If you’re looking to curate artwork into a space, whether a restaurant, gallery, or private residence,m we work with a carefully selected directory of artists creating bold, collectable pieces across disciplines.