Throughout October, Bond Street’s Opera Gallery will present 3 outstanding sculptures by Manolo Valdés, Anthony James and Seo Young-Deok as part of the Mayfair Sculpture Trail.

Internationally-acclaimed Seo Young-Deok’s meticulous manipulation of bicycle chains in Meditation 1554 can be found at Grosvenor Square. Each iron piece is welded together to become a part of the dynamic system of interconnectivity exhibited in human forms. While the material may be physically strong, the true strength exhibited is that of the human spirit. The exceptional work by the Korean artist often showcases the suffering and decay from the experience of his family’s generation working in Korea’s industrialisation era.

Manolo Valdés’ Reina Mariana is just a stone’s throw away from Bond Street. As one of Spain’s most famous living artists, Manolo Valdés finds inspiration from old masterpieces by the likes of Velázquez, Rembrandt or Goya, using them as a pretext for creating a new aesthetic. His work possesses the quality of timelessness, creating connections between the past and present, the old and the new. In Reina Mariana, Valdés re-contextualises Diego Velázquez’s Queen Mariana (1652-1653) – a highly recognisable portrait of the second wife of Felipe IV. The change in morphology and meaning that occurs throughout Valdés’ representations of Velázquez’s image can be seen in this work.

On display beside Bond Street’s Louis Vuitton store is a mesmerising LED glass vitrine Crystal 001 by world-renowned light sculptor Anthony James, implementing the concept of crystallisation, one that is found in nature, and used computer programming to mimic naturally forming polycrystalline shapes. The artist allowed an organic digitisation which parallels crystals formation, even allowing for external influences to cause variations. The sculpture’s multifaceted mirrors, glass and hallucinogenic surfaces allow the public to engage with the work with its meditative and limitless qualities.

Other highlights of the Mayfair Sculpture Trail also include Antony Gormley’s ‘Cinch’ perched on the north façade of Burlington Arcade and Henry Moore’s ‘Time-Life Screen’ above Hermès – what was Time Life Building – also on New Bond Street.

The Mayfair Sculpture Trail is a collaboration with Westminster City Council and Art in Mayfair, and in partnership with Burlington Arcade, Cork Street Galleries, Wander Art, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, and Art of London. It has been created with the enormous support of the galleries (Opera Gallery, Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Gazelli Art House, JD Malat Gallery, Waddington Custot, The Mayor Gallery + Gormley’s Fine Art, and Timothy Taylor) and their artists, in partnership with which we are delighted to present the artworks which follow.