For Art's Sake

Art connoisseur and curator SHALINI PASSI sketches out a gallery trail in London. If you’re a collector, admirer, or even a dilettante, take notes.

- Shalini Passi

Whenever I’m in London, my trip is centred around the galleries and museums I want to visit. This impacts where I stay, what I eat, and how I get about: I must first put together a list of the unmissable exhibitions and collections in the city, and then plan everything else. In doing so, I end up discovering the unique characteristics of each neighbourhood I visit.

Let’s start with Central London. At the heart of the city, Mayfair is an elegant upmarket district that is home to luxury fashion houses, established jewellers and tailors, and some of the city’s best commercial art spaces. Here, you find ‘Blue Chip’ galleries such as Hauser & Wirth (hauserwirth. com), Pace (pacegallery.com), and Marian Goodman (mariangoodman.com). I love these spaces because they exhibit an interesting mix of modern and contemporary works, which reflects my own taste.