Roy Oxlade

Roy Oxlade Alison Jacques

Alison Jacques Gallery presents an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by British artist Roy Oxlade (1929 – 2014). This will be the second show of Oxlade’s work at the gallery. The works on display will span from 1978 to 2006, with Oxlade’s works on paper being shown for the first time at the gallery. The exhibition follows the recent survey, ‘Shine Out Fair Sun’ at Hastings Contemporary, which marked the artist’s first major public gallery exhibition in Europe. A definitive monograph relating to this show will be published in 2020. This exhibition precedes a solo presentation on Oxlade at Independent Art Fair, New York, in March 2020. On Tuesday 26th November the gallery will host a talk by Andrew Renton, Professor of Curating at Goldsmiths, University of London, discussing Oxlade’s career.

The artistic practice Oxlade developed throughout his six-decade career was grounded by spontaneity and instinct, with colour shaping the essence of each work. Specific objects found in the artist’s home and studio in Kent formed the basis of his pictures: scissors, lamps and lemon squeezers make recurring appearances alongside paint tins, jugs and garden chairs. The diaristic quality of his portrayals, which echo daily life, is also emphasised by frequent references to the artist’s wife, fellow painter Rose Wylie, who was Oxlade’s lifelong muse. “He was very picky about what he painted,” Wylie recalls. “Painting the figure was fundamentally very important to him.”
Works on paper in the show reveal the artist’s longstanding experiments with crayon and pastel, and document Oxlade’s handling of oil paint in the manner of charcoal. Whether realised as graphic outlines or painterly smudges, drawing was a critical tool for Oxlade and he referred to the medium as the foundation of his practice. The works in the exhibition are also reflective of recurring motifs in Oxlade’s art, such as the juxtaposition between object and subject; and the grid format, which was relied upon to create order.

Duration 15 November 2019 - 11 January 2020
Times Tuesday to Saturday: 11am - 6pm or by appointment.
Cost Free
Venue Alison Jacques Gallery
Address 22 Cork Street, London, W1S 3NG
Contact 4402076314720 / info@alisonjacquesgallery.com / www.alisonjacquesgallery.com

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