One of the questions which was not really discussed in detail at the London Real Estates Forum this week is how, in areas such as Fitzrovia, can the traditional character and identity with many small independent art galleries be retained as developers such as Derwent inevitably redevelop their properties, for example at 80 Charlotte Street.   Recently, Curwen Gallery in Windmill Street closed and this month Darren Baker in Charlotte Street is closing.  Is this just part of normal churn with new galleries coming in to replace them, or is it a sign of the area changing?

In Charlotte Street is Nick Woolff’s Gallery, currently drawing in art lovers to ”Flora”, Valeria Nascimento’s latest exhibition showing beautiful new work transforming dozens or hundreds of hand-made ceramics, in muted tones with the occasional blast of colour or metal, into swirling roses, cascading flowers, coral, anemones and other natural forms.

Valeria attributes her passion for blending natural forms with urban landscapes to two influences: her childhood spent on a farm in Brazil and to her studies for her architecture degree in 1985.

To see a larger installation of her work, go and have a meal at Spring, Skye Gyngell’s restaurant in Somerset House, where 5,200 individual porcelain petals flow across the walls creating a sculpture which celebrates the beauty and life of plants bursting into spring and summer.