Image: !ART-7 Art Gallery, Ilford
Ai Bo Gallery has issued a new online presentation titled 'Living with Art', framing the collecting question not around spectacle but around daily companionship. The text asks why people choose to live with art and suggests that the right work can alter the feeling of a room, recall a memory, lift a mood, or become part of everyday life over time. Rather than presenting a single exhibition narrative, the gallery’s message invites viewers to consider which piece they would want to see each day.
The selection includes works by Thannyo De Freitas, Ali Hasmut, Jonas Leriche, Tran Huy Hoan, Isabelle Scheltjens, Patrick Rubinstein, Alberto Letamendi, and others. The presentation is organized around individual artworks and the idea of personal attachment, with the gallery emphasizing that the most meaningful works often develop a more intimate connection as they live alongside their owners or viewers.
Among the works listed are Thannyo De Freitas’s 'Blue Floating Island V' from 2026, a work measuring 40.5 x 63 x 1 in; Ali Hasmut’s 'Rain Symphony' from 2023, an oil on linen work sized 60 x 60 in; and Jonas Leriche’s 'Beauty In the Shell (5/1)' from 2026, described as mixed reality and measuring 43 x 43 x 1 in. The presentation also features Tran Huy Hoan’s 'Flying Doves' from 2012, an oil on canvas work measuring 34 x 42 in.
Other featured pieces include Isabelle Scheltjens’s 'Zofia' from 2026, a glass and mixed media mosaic measuring 66 x 49 x 1.5 in; Patrick Rubinstein’s 'Sous les aster' from 2024, made with mixed media and 22 carat gold leaf and measuring 47.2 x 47.2 x 2.2 in; and Alberto Letamendi’s 'Olatuen Azpian (Under the waves)' from 2024, a mixed media work measuring 51 x 75 in. The gallery’s page also notes that viewers can inquire about specific artworks through Ai Bo Gallery’s contact page or search the site for artists and works.
The presentation arrives through Ai Bo Gallery’s website and email format rather than as a dated public exhibition announcement, and the available source material does not specify a physical venue, opening, or closing date. Instead, it reads as a curated inventory or themed selection designed to prompt prospective collectors to think about the role of art in domestic space and the kinds of works that remain compelling over time.
Ai Bo Gallery’s framing keeps the emphasis on choice, scale, and personal response. By grouping together works in different media, from oil on linen and oil on canvas to glass, mixed media mosaic, and mixed reality, 'Living with Art' presents a broad view of how contemporary artworks might move from object to companion within the home.
