A playground for the creative, the kind and the curious

Few figures have done more to challenge the traditional distinctions between art, design, craft, and architecture than Julien Lombrail. As co-founder of Carpenters Workshop Gallery, he helped create a platform for artists and designers whose work resists easy categorisation, blurring the line between functional object and sculptural artwork.

Over the past two decades, Lombrail has witnessed profound changes in the cultural landscape. Collectible design has evolved from a niche field into a global market, while the relationship between creativity, value, and cultural influence has become increasingly complex. At the same time, artists and designers are navigating a world shaped by economic uncertainty, technological disruption, and shifting geopolitical realities.

In this edition of Art Matters, artist and Art Matters founder Kendell Geers invites Lombrail to reflect on the forces shaping contemporary culture today. What distinguishes art from design, and does that distinction still matter? How do markets influence creative production? What role do collectors, galleries, and institutions play in determining cultural value? And how are artists responding to a world in which politics, economics, and identity increasingly shape the conditions of cultural production?

In 2019 Carpenters Workshop Gallery took over the historic Ladbroke Hall building in London and transformed it with a £30 million transformation into a gallery and members club they describe as “A PLAYGROUND for the Creative, the kind and the curious.” It is not a traditional members’ club but offers a Patrons scheme that hosts 150 art and design events per year including exhibitions by Rick Owens, Vincenzo De Cotis, Nacho Carbonell, a bar designed by Michèle Lamy and an award winning Italian restaurant.

Join Kendell Geers and Julien Lombrail for another riveting behind the scene discussion about why Art Matters and the role of art in private clubs like TheMerode and Ladbroke Hall. They will talk about the art and design markets as well as the complex relationship between contemporary art, design, culture and the influence of recent geopolitical events.