Pae White: Public Art, London, 2024

Curated on behalf of Lacuna

Pae White, Untitled, 2017 (National Gallery of Victoria Triennial) © Sean Fennessy

The Escalator Permanent Public Art Commission

Launching: Spring / Summer 2024

Pae White will suspend a large and experiential installation that caps four levels of shops and restaurants both above and below ground, opening out onto a new public piazza and framing the entrance to the new landmark 14 storey workspace designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

This new commission will be the Los Angeles-based visual artist’s first public realm commission in London and one of three new permanent public artworks at Paddington Square. The artwork is commissioned, following an invited competition, that was curated by Lacuna and it is selected by an independent jury.

“The Paddington Square public art programme acts as a conversation starter: to demonstrate and inspire the power, beauty, potential and responsibility of curating art in the public realm. Our curatorial approach takes its cues from the vision of Sellar, together with Renzo Piano Building Workshop’s architectural ambition to bring one of London’s biggest transport gateways to life through public spaces and contemporary art.”

– Stated by Stella Ioannou, Director & Jade Niklai, Associate Curator of Lacuna, 2023

Paddington Square is London’s new quarter for work, culture, retail and dining at the heart of Paddington’s regeneration. Conceived by developer Sellar, a 14-storey crystalline building designed by architect practice Renzo Piano Building Workshop will sit at the centre of the new development. It includes a new Bakerloo Line entrance for the London Underground, west London’s highest rooftop dining experience and a 1.35-acre public square, providing a striking new arrival experience for Paddington Station.

The Paddington Square public art programme is commissioned by Sellar and curated by Stella Ioannou, Director and Jade Niklai, Associate curator, Lacuna.

Paddington Square, London (rendering by Grain) © RPBW, Sellar