These days, “guerrilla events” are all the rage in many of the world’s buzziest cities. A “guerrilla” event – or pop-up gallery, to use another phrase – is something that you have to catch quick or it will be gone.

It could be showcasing food (“eating installations” are a current fad), or lighting, or be a one-off gathering, but if it’s a gallery or shop it will usually be showcasing something distinctly non-mainstream. And it makes sense: an empty space is filled with the sort of avant-garde work that otherwise few places could afford to show.

Take Small Show, Huge Talent, the West London event that Janice Blackburn is curating at 9 Hillgate Street, Notting Hill Gate, from January 16 to 27. The architect Seth Stein is about to build a new townhouse on the site but meanwhile the building languishes empty – so for 11 days anyone interested in avant-garde work will have a chance to view and buy some. Don’t go if your taste is for homely items, though – some of the work, particularly that of the jeweller Kelly McCallum (beetles covered in gold foil) is quite disturbing.

The artists range from jewellers and a ceramicist to Maarten Kolk, who uses dried herbs and plants to create “herbaria” pictures. Other materials used by the artists include paper, cake and beeswax. But Janice is anxious to point out that this is not mere gimmickry: every piece is meticulously made.

Personally, she is possibly most excited by the work of Melanie Georgacopoulos, a jeweller who “takes the conventional pearl, deconstructs it and turns it into something infinitely more exciting”. She uses black, lavender and grey freshwater pearls, often cutting and distorting them to create striking pieces. Tomás Gabzdil Libertiny makes honeycomb vases, each of which takes about 40,000 bees and a week to create. Then there are ceramics from Carole Windham, ethereal cakes from Rachel Mount and austere meditation stools from Michael Anastassiades. And finally, the young Dutch designer Joris Laarman is selling the last chaise still available in his “Bone” series.

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