Sydney Gallery Roslyn Oxley9 Turns 40

A major publication marks four decades championing influential Australian and international artists.

Published by Formist Editions and written and edited by Felicity Fenner, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery: The First 40 Years is a thoughtfully designed tome and includes essays from artists, curators, and leading art world figures.

The history of the gallery is reflective of, and intertwined with, the history of Australian contemporary art. Over 350 artists have exhibited with Oxley, including Australian artists Dale Frank, Fiona Hall, Bill Henson, Tracey Moffatt, David Noonan, and Patricia Piccinini, along with artists from Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia, and the United States, including Tracey Emin, Jim Lambie, and Wim Delvoye.

Coinciding with the book launch, a curated exhibition at the gallery presents works by artists currently represented by Oxley. Anecdotal quotes intersperse the artworks—many of which are highly entertaining and provide insight into a deeply intimate relationship between gallerist and artist.

After graduating from East Sydney Technical College, Oxley worked as an interior designer for Peddle Thorpe & Walker, Sydney and Yuncken Freeman, Melbourne.

She reminisced, 'I loved it, the interiors, projects. I was always obsessed with looking, seeing, buying art. I used to visit all the galleries in Sydney—Bonython, Rudy Komon. When Tony [Oxley's husband] and I would go travelling, [Melbourne art dealer] George Mora would advise which art fairs or museums to visit ... and later, when we lived in New York, it was our thing—to look at art. We became good friends with Leo Castelli [pioneering and influential Italian-American art dealer]. He was so fantastic; he had such great artists. New York was amazing in the 1970s.'

Upon their return to Sydney, Oxley recounted, 'I became very friendly with [curator] Ace Burke. On a trip to the Hawkesbury, we were in conversation, and he said, "you should open a gallery", and I said, "oh yeah? What a great idea".'

Deepening friendships in the Australian art world, combined with exposure to exciting art during the Oxley's time in New York and an ever-growing passion, spurred them to act. Despite Roslyn's name on the door, Tony has always been involved—a partnership in both life and art.

The gallery first opened in 1982 in MacDonald Street, Paddington, a suburb in Sydney's inner-east known for its galleries, with an exhibition of Gareth Sansom's paintings. Later, in 1990, the gallery moved into its current premises in Soudan Lane, Paddington. After purchasing the building, on the advice of an astrologer, Roslyn added the number 9 to the gallery name.

'The building in Soudan Lane was tucked away; I was very worried no one would find us,' she said.

Ambitious for the gallery from the outset, Oxley said, 'We took artists that didn't have representation, young artists. I had a great friendship with art critic Paul Taylor (Art & Text), and I would go and stay with him and meet a lot of artists in Melbourne.'

'I'm quite bullish about who I like and who I don't, and what interests me,' she said. 'I've never worried about taking on new artists, it's always interesting to see the artists grow ... or not.'

Oxley's knack for selecting talented artists is instinctive: 'It was the ones that just had something ... most of them maybe hadn't shown before; they were young and new, out of art school ... I knew enough about not tampering. A lot of older artists came in. We knew a lot of them and they wanted to show, but I wanted new people.'

'I have always had fun finding artists,' she continued. 'It is just my thing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't work. Some have left over the years; you just have to swallow it. You put a lot of emotion behind your choice as well. We work hard for artists, getting [the gallery] into fairs, into Venice ... '

On her discovery of Yayoi Kusama's work, Oxley reminisces, 'I saw her work in Ota Fine Arts in Tokyo and I just thought 'woah'. Later, I met her gallerist [Hidenori Ota] and we did a few visits to Japan and got to know them. [From 2002-2010] Kusama showed with the gallery, and we took her work to art fairs for many years. Eventually, she left after another gallery made an offer. I was heartbroken. I really get disappointed when they leave. I'm not very good at saying goodbye.'

The gallery has a tremendous history of supporting contemporary art and, as Oxley notes, there have been too many highlights over the last 40 years to name, however, four gallery artists have exhibited in documenta and thirteen have represented Australia at the Venice Biennale.

Touching on some of the more challenging moments of the last 40 years, Oxley keenly felt renowned sculptor Bronwyn Oliver's sudden death in 2006.

'Bronwyn's passing has been the lowest point,' she said. 'We did a lot together; she was often asked to do commissions and was very good at it. She had a lot of shows, almost yearly. She'd often pass by and stop in to the gallery to chat. She was intense, so great, actually ... The show [held soon after her passing] was amazing ... the works were so dense and complicated, and the patterns that were forming ... [She was] pushing it the whole time, the weaves, so different ... an amazingly hard worker.'

Oxley spoke to the importance of bringing international work to Australian shores and taking the work of local artists overseas.

'The art fairs have been really important. We got into Art Basel early on, Art Cologne has been good to us. We did fairs in Europe, Asia, and in New York.'

Oxley has also fostered connections with Indigenous artists through relationships with leading curators, including acclaimed Bundjalung artist-curator Djon Mundine OAM. The gallery programme has positioned Indigenous artists alongside international contemporaries such as Isaac Julien and Jim Lambie.

Oxley recounted an early visit to the art centre at Yirrkala, Arnhem Land [Northern Territory], where she was looking at some of the Yolŋu women making work. She noticed Ms N. Yunupiŋu (1945–2021) making some small pieces.

Her advice to the centre manager at the time was, 'Give her bigger barks and I will show her. Something tweaked inside, that's how it always happens with me. So [in 2008], we got a whole shipment of barks—they weren't very big. We showed her pretty much every year from then until her death. Now we show several Indigenous artists, including Dhambit Munuŋgurr—she's electric.'

When asked what the plan is for the next 40 years, Oxley grinned. 'Keep healthy. The years unfold, it's always interesting what is around the corner. It has gone by in a flash.' —[O]