My Favourite Things: Olia Sardarova
Olia Sardarova is a passionate design collector as well as the founder of London boxing gym, BXR London.
Entrepreneur Olia Sardarova launched boxing gym BXR London three years ago, a state-of-the-art 12,000 square foot members-only club, with interiors designed by Bergman Interiors and blue-chip artworks throughout. "My biggest passion is actually interior design more than paintings, so my favourite event of the year in London is PAD and I have been treating myself to a piece of art furniture item every year," says Sardarova.
Her favourite art from her personal art collection is now shared between her home and the gym.
Punch Bag by Ingrid Donat/ Punching Ball Rondelles
I was honoured to work with Michelle Lamy on her extraordinary ‘What are we Fighting For?’ exhibition presented at Venice Art Biennale and then again at BXR London. This bag was my favourite out of the 12 exhibited and is hung in one of our studios. “Boxing is a great metaphor for life.”
Herve Van Der Straeten, 425 Console Propagation
This is the first piece I ever acquired at PAD London and to this date Herve Van Der Straeten remains my favourite furniture designer. I subsequently bought another few items from him, which are displayed in my home.
Pool Table designed by Freshwest Design.
This is a coffee table that looks like a swimming pool. The table top is made of an aqua coloured glass, which replicates the blue colour of a backyard pool. This used to be in my office as a coffee table, then at the gym also as a coffee table at Reception Lounge. The simple addition of a tiny acrylic diving board enhances the fun realistic effect. It’s amazing what a small detail like that makes to what would normally be an average glass table.
Julian Opie, This is Shahnoza in 3 parts.
This is one the first gifts I bought for my husband back 10 years ago: fun, playful and a touch sexy. Something that has been on the wall of his office space at home from day one.
Gavin Bond, Backstage Image 5, Volume 3
This fun and controversial piece has been a great addition to the BXR collection on its opening day in 2017. Whilst this piece has caused a number of complaints from more conservative members, it has always out a smile on my face and has been an inspiration to work out more.
Murals by Ben Slow at BXR
The raw concrete walls at BXR have murals by London street artist Ben Slow, these include boxing greats Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, which inject soul into the space. Renowned for his large-scale murals, Ben is first and foremost a storyteller. He is continuously fascinated and inspired by the colourful characters he meets on his travels.
