Art in the 'hood with Mr Fierce

At Chateau Denmark our passion for the arts goes far beyond music.

Over a chance encounter in our bar - Mr Fierce met Nicola Bensley and David Dipré, more widely known as Bensley & Dipré. A dynamic artistic duo now in their fifth year of collaboration. Through overpainting, scratching, drawing, collage, and distortion techniques, they push the boundaries of their mediums, creating a distinctive visual language that blurs the lines between photography and painting. The featured work is an eye-catching edition to our apartments, matching the ambience and spirit of Denmark Street, our rock and roll heritage and our unapologetic ambience of opulence. The collection will be on display throughout September, ahead of the artists' upcoming exhibition CONVERGE.

The elusive Lucius took an Old Fashioned and spent a moment with them to find out more.

Mr Fierce: Tell us about the moment you knew you’d be artists?

B&D: It's just something we were always going to be, we can't help ourselves.

Mr Fierce: Your process is fascinating, would you mind sharing a little about it with us?

B&D: Over time we have developed our own distinctive visual language, one that involves creating dreamlike environments in the studio. We shoot on film within these conjured worlds and select images from the contact sheets, and these silver gelatin prints are then reworked in the studio. By disrupting the surface with paint and drawing techniques, adding layers, playing with the ambiguities of what is in the photograph and what's been added, always searching for a mysterious, ethereal and unexpected visualisation of the figure in the interior.

Mr Fierce: What was the inspiration point for CONVERGE?

B&D: It wasn't so much a point as a natural progression, CONVERGE sees us working more closely and intensely, the materials and methods between practices becoming more aligned and integrated. We wanted the thread of the show to acknowledge the analogue nature of what we do, each piece showing the full frame and negative numbers. The silver gelatin prints are then mounted on aluminium before being reworked by hand in the studio.

Mr Fierce: Tell us about your favourite place to people watch?

B&D: We're very lucky to have our studio here in Soho, a great place to people watch, a favourite being The French House on Dean Street - a refuge for artists and bohemians.

Mr Fierce: Where can we find more of your work?

B&D: We've been working hard in the studio to complete our CONVERGE collection and are thrilled to be showcasing 14 works with you at Chateau Denmark. Our show runs from 3rd to 6th October at 15 Bateman Street, Soho, W1D 3AQ, where we will be unveiling the full CONVERGE series.

To see more please visit Bensley & Dipre. 

We're proud of our rich heritage as a champion for artists of all mediums, and we continually seek to showcase best-of-British talent in all of its forms. This week,14 never-before-seen masterpieces by renowned British artists Bensley and Dipré, are gracing the corridors of our Townhouse & Two Bedroom Deluxe Apartments.

Private tours of the artwork can be arranged on request.