Isamaya Ffrench, a British makeup artist and designer, has opened a gallery and concept store called Studio Iron in London. The venture debuted with a pop-up exhibition at Saatchi Yates gallery, running until June 7, before moving to a permanent location in The Painting Rooms in Soho. The show features 62 works by artists including Benjamin Kustow, Kouros Maghsoudi, Gary Card, Paul McCarthy, Kelly Wearstler, Anne Imhof, and Marina Abramović, with pieces that blend art, function, and design. Ffrench handpicked the artists and mentored them on commissioned furniture and decorative objects, aiming to break down boundaries between art and design.
This launch matters because it represents a crossover between the beauty, fashion, and art worlds, challenging the hierarchical and genre-bound nature of the contemporary art scene. Ffrench’s platform gives younger and established artists the freedom to experiment with interior design and functional objects, potentially expanding the market for collectible design and blurring the lines between fine art and everyday objects. The move also signals a growing trend of multidisciplinary creatives entering the gallery space, which could reshape how art is produced, displayed, and consumed.