This September, Charles Burnand Gallery opens its long-awaited permanent home at 20 Bruton Place, Mayfair. Opening during London Design Festival, Under Wraps transforms the act of unveiling into part of the exhibition itself, with significant new works revealed through a choreographed sequence of automated unveilings.

The opening marks a defining moment in a period of sustained international growth for the gallery, whose exhibition and fair programme has expanded significantly across the United States, the Middle East, and Asia. The move sees Charles Burnand Gallery relocate from its Fitzrovia space, home to the gallery since 2021, into the heart of London’s historic gallery district. The Mayfair opening is the first of two major milestones in the gallery's expansion, with a permanent, large-scale gallery in the Cotswolds set to follow in 2027.

Rather than presenting works as finished objects awaiting admiration, Under Wraps turns the moment of revelation into a curatorial act in its own right. Selected pieces remain veiled beneath semi-translucent architectural sheeting, their forms only partially discernible, before being revealed through a carefully choreographed sequence of automated unveilings. Concealment becomes an active curatorial device, transforming anticipation into an integral part of the exhibition experience and inviting visitors to consider not only what is revealed, but how the moment of revelation shapes their relationship with the work.

Under Wraps features new and recent works by internationally acclaimed artists Niamh Barry, Peter Lane, Studio Furthermore, Kyeok Kim, Myungtaek Jung and Marc Fish, among others, working across mirror-polished bronze, glazed ceramic stoneware, recycled aluminium and cast glass. Highlight works include a monumental stoneware wall installation by Peter Lane; illuminated bronze sculpture by Niamh Barry; a new console by Studio Furthermore in recycled aluminium with a dichroic coating; and a 22ct rose gold leaf chandelier by Marc Fish — alongside new pieces by Ian Milnes, Kyeok Kim, Deglan, Weon Rhee and Inhye Ji.

Bringing together significant new works across Art Furniture, Illuminated Sculpture, Collectable Design and Sculpture, Under Wraps reflects the breadth of Charles Burnand Gallery's programme while introducing the next chapter in the practices of many of its represented artists. Some works mark entirely new bodies of work; others extend established practices through greater ambition of scale, material and technical refinement. Together, they mirror the gallery's own position at a threshold, moving from private development into public view.

“The gallery occupies a unique place between artist and collector. It is entrusted with a work’s first cultural conversation, and with the responsibility of shaping that first encounter with care, clarity and conviction.

Every exhibition contains a moment of revelation, but that moment is usually invisible. With Under Wraps, we wanted visitors to experience it consciously — to understand that the way a work is first encountered can shape the relationship that begins.

This new Mayfair home has existed in anticipation for years, in the minds of our artists, collaborators and collectors. Under Wraps is the moment that anticipation becomes public.

“The moment a work is unveiled is not simply the moment it is seen. It is the moment a relationship begins.” Simon Stewart, Founder and Curator, Charles Burnand Gallery

The Mayfair gallery has been designed by Richard Parr Architects, establishing a cohesive architectural language that will also define the Cotswolds gallery on its opening in 2027. Both spaces are conceived as sculptural environments for sculptural work, built to present materially ambitious design at a scale and quality more commonly associated with contemporary art institutions. Together, the two openings form a broader arc for the gallery: a defining cultural presence in London, followed by a landmark countryside destination for monumental, museum-scale work.

As the inaugural exhibition of Charles Burnand Gallery's new Mayfair home, Under Wraps establishes the curatorial direction of the space and reimagines what an opening exhibition can be, transforming the beginning of a new chapter for the gallery, its artists and their collectors into the substance of the exhibition itself.