Interior Design Meets Art in Colourway: An Exhibition Celebrating Two Vibrant New St Leger & Viney Collections

Sarah Ord portrait to Vignette

This March, a captivating fusion of colour, art, fabric, décor, and interior design will be on display at Colourway, an exhibition that brings together the work of Lauren Shantall and Sarah Ord. The exhibition opens at St Leger & Viney’s showroom in Cape Town, located in the heart of the Mother City’s decor hub in charming Chelsea Village, Wynberg. The event will also mark the launch of two new fabric collections—Modern Velvet and Vintage Linen.

Lillies by Sarah Ord and Lauren Shantall

Colourway showcases vibrant, interior-themed paintings inspired by the rich tones of these new fabrics, paired with the centuries-old tradition of still life painting through a contemporary perspective. The exhibition will open to the public from 17h00 onwards on Thursday, 6 March 2025, and will remain on display indefinitely, with fresh art pieces added periodically to offer new inspiration with each visit.

The exhibition primarily features a series of floral arrangements in vases, often accompanied by other decorative objects. Some paintings are solely by Shantall, while others are collaborative works created with Ord, with both artists contributing brushstrokes to the same canvas—sometimes even simultaneously.

Lauren Shantall

“Collaborating with Sarah on several of the paintings has been a wonderful process. It’s a dialogue between two people who share an unrestrained love of colour. We just click, and our choices are harmonious. It’s a rare and pleasurable meeting,” says Shantall.

Shantall, who has a background as the Deputy Editor of Elle Decoration and Manager of the Design Indaba Expo, now directs Scout PR & Social Media. She primarily works in acrylics on canvas in her spare time. Ord, a celebrated interior designer known for her bold use of colour and eclectic style, is the creative force behind significant projects such as The Stack, Noka Safari Lodge, and numerous private residences around the world. Together, their collaborative artworks invite guests into a world where interior design and artistic expression meet.

blue study alstroemeria by Lauren Shantall

To develop the exhibition, Shantall spent time in the St Leger & Viney showroom, exploring the fabrics and selecting samples that spoke to her. “I then photographed the ones that stood out and reproduced patterns or sections of them on canvas. The fabric colours were especially inspiring as reference material. I used blocks of colour from the Vintage Linen and Modern Velvet collections as backgrounds and foregrounds. I wanted to explore how these adaptable colourways could be translated into painting,” she explains.

The resulting paintings establish a rich dialogue with the fabrics. “Both Vintage Linen and Modern Velvet feature a broad range of colours, akin to a paint palette—there are endless possibilities with them. They are saturated and sophisticated colours,” notes Peter Gordon, CEO of St Leger & Viney. Gordon was instrumental in integrating original artworks into the brand’s offerings.

St Leger & Viney, a leader in South Africa’s interior design industry since 1989, is renowned for its premium selection of fabrics, wall coverings, and trimmings. The new collections are no exception. Modern Velvet is available in 17 rich colours and combines a soft, velvety texture with a sleek, modern look, while Vintage Linen comes in 15 elegant shades, mimicking the appearance of washed linen with a distinct mélange pattern.

Both fabric collections will be on display during the exhibition opening and will continue to be featured in St Leger & Viney’s showrooms in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban. In addition to the Cape Town exhibition, select artworks will be showcased at the Johannesburg showroom. Visitors are welcome to view the Colourway exhibition free of charge during the showroom’s regular hours.

St Leger & Viney Showrooms: