Framed by brick walls bearing hundreds of letters in honour of the King of Rock, a green door opens onto the last home of Freddie Mercury, the remarkably talented frontman of Queen. In 1985, the singer moved to this quiet street in Kensington and sumptuously decorated the rooms of this home that would host raucous parties and where the studio annex would host recording sessions late into the night. When, with his health deteriorating, the rock star withdrew from the public eye, he would spend more and more time in the intimacy of this home. Assisted, until his death by his ex-lover and best friend, Mary Austin, Mercury died in this house on November 24, 1991. He was cremated and his ashes were placed in a secret location, known only to Mary Austin. Following the last wishes of her friend, the woman, along with her family, still lives in Garden Lodge, surrounded by the furnishings that Freddie Mercury picked out himself. The building was built in 1908 for painter Cecil Rae who lived in the house with his wife and, before Mercury, it had numerous high-profile owners, including Peter Wilson, president of the auction house Sotheby’s.
Marie Antoinette: The Queen of Style Who Never Goes Out of Fashion
Featuring more than 250 works, from personal jewels and court dress to creations by Dior, Chanel and Vivienne Westwood, the show traces Marie Antoinette’s lasting impact on fashion, the decorative arts and visual culture.
The exhibition retraces a decade of Cai Guo-Qiang’s practice, with works created using explosives and coloured powders. An exploration of painting as process, balancing abstraction, nature and vital energy.
For the first time in the United Kingdom, a major exhibition explores the work of Ketty La Rocca, a leading figure in Italian Visual Poetry and Body Art. Over fifty works trace a radical journey through gestures, words, X-rays, and manipulated images. A powerful investigation of language, identity, and the body.
At the Royal Academy, A Story of South Asian Art explores Mrinalini Mukherjee’s work and her creative circle, including her mentors and colleagues. Through her textile sculptures and site-specific connections, the exhibition redefines contemporary sculpture with roots in South Asian Modernism.
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