The shock of the new: Gallery A Sydney 1964 – 1983

Newcastle Region Art Gallery, 9 May - 19 July 2009

Gallery A is ‘a home of the purest, most painterly painting,’

Daniel Thomas, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 November, 1973.

Newcastle Region Art Gallery presents Gallery A Sydney 1964–1983: the first in-depth survey of the most influential and occasionally controversial art gallery in NSW during this seminal time in art history.

To open on 9 May 2009, Gallery A Sydney is an exploration of art in Sydney during the iconic 1960s and 1970s. Viewers are taken behind the scenes to view the artworks that made headlines in this politically and socially turbulent time. It is modern art history as seen through the lens of one gallery, the iconic Gallery A situated in working class Paddington near Sydney's CBD.

Gallery A was the first gallery in NSW devoted solely to exhibiting abstract art. In doing so, it launched the careers of many major figures in Australian art and helped break the shackles on Sydney's long-held obsession with figurative art. The Gallery was a melting pot of ideas, a meeting place for creative minds and a backdrop for artistic expression. It was also one of the first commercial galleries in Australia to exhibit Aboriginal paintings as contemporary art. Finally, it helped to secure Sydney's placement at the forefront of the international contemporary art world just as New York was emerging as the arts capital of the English-speaking world.

Gallery A Sydney opened in 1964 against a backdrop of rapid cultural, social and political change; artists sought new ways to interpret the changing world around them. From New York to Sydney, creative minds were experimenting with new styles of art to challenge accepted cultural values.

Gallery A was launched in Melbourne in 1959 by art entrepreneur Max Hutchinson and sculptor Clement Meadmore. The Melbourne gallery was one of the first in Australia devoted entirely to exhibiting contemporary abstract art. It won widespread acclaim for the quality of its exhibitions and Gallery A Sydney opened five years later in 1964.

The Sydney Gallery was virtually an overnight success. Under the directorship of Max Hutchinson, Ann Lewis AM and Rua Osborne, it quickly became known as the city's most progressive commercial gallery.

"Gallery A provided artists with a place where creativity could thrive. In doing so, it allowed abstract art to move into the mainstream and paved the way for many of Australia's best-known artists. Its formation will always remain a vehement reminder that art can and does change the course of history and the artistic and political mindset of the day," said Ron Ramsey, Director of Newcastle Region Art Gallery.

"The decision by its Directors to show Western Desert painters was a significant step forward in Australian art history which pre-empted the world-wide fascination with contemporary Australian Indigenous painting," Ramsey said.

"I vividly remember the dynamism of the early sixties in Sydney," said Ann Lewis. "This city was overflowing with talented and ambitious artists but few if any were being exhibited in private or public galleries. We were all frustrated that despite major shifts in the social and political landscape, art in Australia was stuck in its long-held figurative tradition. Nolans and Drysdales dominated gallery walls and other local contemporary artists were still not being considered. Gallery A ended all that and it provided a voice for the next generation of artists to be heard for the first time."

Gallery A opened in 1964 in Paddington and the Directors faced controversy almost immediately. The Sydney Vice Squad visited the Gallery in 1965 to close down an exhibition. Titled Paintin’ A-Go-Go!, the exhibition by Mike Brown contained a number of four-letter words. Such was the magistrate's reaction to the work that the 27 year old artist was sentenced to three month's hard labour. The move sent a wave of anger throughout the arts community, which was outraged and fearful of censorship. The sentence was converted to a modest fine on appeal.

During the experimental 1970s, the Gallery continued to attract Sydney's most creative minds, as well as its most fashionable. Actors, artists and musicians passed through the doors throughout the decade. Its 'cool' status was enhanced in 1970 when Hutchinson opened a subsidiary of Gallery A in New York in the heart of today's SoHo and art gallery district. The New York Gallery helped to bring New York artists to Australia. Hutchinson was instrumental in brokering the acquisition of Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles by the National Gallery of Australia. In the early 1980s, Gallery A continued to challenge the status quo. It was in 1982 one of the first commercial galleries in Australia to exhibit Aboriginal paintings as contemporary art works, as opposed to ethnographic art. In showing work by Western Desert artists, it was a critical step in establishing the development and support of Aboriginal artists. Gallery A Sydney held its final exhibition in 1983.

The Gallery's overwhelming success was largely due to Ann Lewis, today one of Australia's most respected collectors, as well as one of Australia’s most prominent arts patrons. Ann Lewis was a foundation member of the Visual Arts Board, Australia Council, President of the Art Gallery Society in the Art Gallery of NSW, and a member of the Aboriginal Arts and Crafts Council and the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Last year, Ann also donated $4 million worth of art to the Newcastle Gallery. The generous donation will considerably boost the Gallery‟s permanent collection and enhance its exhibition potential.

In recognition of Lewis's remarkable contribution to the Australian arts scene, collectors across Australia have commissioned a portrait of her to be unveiled for the first time at the Gallery A exhibition official opening on 15 May 2009. The artwork is a hologram created by internationally renowned Australian artist Paula Dawson. It touches on the prominent times in Ann's life and considers how she sees the world versus how the world sees Ann.

Australian artists in this exhibition include: Ralph Balson, Mike Brown, Charles Callins, Fred Cress, Virginia Cuppaidge, Janet Dawson, Lesley Dumbrell, Richard Dunn, John Firth-Smith, Bert Flugelman, Rosalie Gascoigne, Guy Grey-Smith, Frank Hinder, Margel Hinder, Michael Johnson, Tim Johnson, Peter Kennedy, Robert Klippel, Colin Lanceley, Bea Maddock, Clement Meadmore, Andrew Nott, Alan Oldfield, John Olsen, Stanislaus Ostoja-Kotkowski, Paul Partos, Peter Powditch, Charles Reddington, Ron Robertson-Swann, Gareth Sansom, Michael Snape, Michael Taylor, Ann Thomson, Vernon Treweeke, and Western Desert artists Mick Namarai Tjapaltjari and Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula.

New York artists include: Natvar Bhavsar, Murray Reich, Milton Resnick, Garry Rich, Edwin Ruda and John Seery.

For further details, go to the Exhibitions Page.