P_ARTE” is the name of a new cultural project by the real estate developer Adriparte. “Muitos Anos a Virar Frangos”, curated by SUPERFICIAL, launches a pop-up contemporary art gallery at the Alure development, celebrating both contemporary art and Portuguese tradition. Adriparte is a boutique real estate developer whose mission is to place culture at the heart of the urban experience. In a move which sees Adriparte establishing itself as an art-focussed developer, Muitos Anos

So, what’s the difference between a mural and a fresco? This is a very good question we’re often asked by friends, and something that took us a little while to get our head around at the outset. Let’s break it down a little with some beautiful examples to illustrate the differences, which sometimes are not all that clearcut! Man, Controller of the Universe, by Diego Rivera, 1932  Generally, a ‘mural’ refers to a painting that is done directly onto a surface - usually a wall o

Luxury + trains = murder. This is what growing up on a diet of Poirot taught us. But they’re back - with a vengeance. With shifting environmental attitudes towards flights, it seems that travelling opulently by train is IN and this renaissance has rolled out some fantastic luxury interiors resplendent with surface art! Slow travel is sexy again. Bring on 2025. Yes, for those who’ve been on one, a sleeper train evokes memories of sleeping poorly upright on a chair or battling

SUPERFICIAL is proud to present Adeste Fidelis , a pair of sculptures by Portuguese artist Miguel Rodrigues . The commission, developed in collaboration with the team of NOBU Hotel London Shoreditch , will adorn the lobby and restaurant of the hotel during the festive period until 6th January 2025. But how to say Christmas without saying it? In a brilliant move to step away from traditional festive symbols and repetitive motifs NOBU chose to commission an artist to create a w

You’ve probably heard of the space race? Or maybe you are familiar with images of glamorised air travel? But have you ever heard of the Blue Riband… ? Sea travel was the major way for passengers to travel long distances until the dawn of the jet age and remained a viable alternative to flight until around the 1960s. Crossing the Atlantic captured the imaginations of several countries who competed to win the Blue Riband - an accolade given to the commercial passenger liner cro

The pre-pandemic world was a whirlwind of efficiency. Sterile office spaces, muted apartment walls, and public buildings designed for...

After braving the whirlwind of Milan Design Week, our team gathered the Interior Design Trends of 2024, but one trend emerged crystal clear: personalisation reigns supreme. In 2024, ditch the design rulebook and curate a space that reflects your unique story. Whether you're embarking on a full-scale renovation or simply adding a few personal touches, your individuality is the hottest interior design trend. Jean Coteau's work at Vila Sospir Gone are the days of rigidly matchin

Early Mail Service and Construction of the Railroad, 1938 If you were lucky enough to visit the Philip Guston exhibition at the Tate in London earlier this year, you may have learnt that early in his career Guston worked on several mural projects. Even with our biassed focus on surface art at SUPERFICIAL, some of our team managed to miss this in the exhibition, so we thought we would explore Guston’s mural artwork a little further. By doing so, the politics and power of mural

Their chalky, boldly free interior style was at odds with the largely restrained Victorian and Edwardian domestic fashions that preceded them. Their individualism was communicated through their surface artwork, spilling their interior worlds onto traditionally plain spaces in the home – transforming and vivifying space through their artistry. The studio at Charleston, the country home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant where the Bloomsbury Group spent time from 1916 on, East Su

One of the questions we get asked the most is what exactly is SURFACE ART?  We are popularising the term, it's a movement poised for a new era. Forget limitations - it's art on any surface. Think murals, stained glass, tapestries, ceilings, floors, furniture, tiles, the sky is the limit. At SUPERFICIAL we're obsessed with creating one-of-a-kind surface art alongside our clients. We ignite passion by breathing new life into any space, from walls and ceilings to staircases, win