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Story by Jack Foley |
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FANS OF anything Australian - or, indeed, Australians themselves - had better check out The Rebecca Hossack Gallery (RHG), which opened in central London in March 1988.
Based at 35 Windmill Street, just off Tottenham Court Road, the gallery has established itself as one of the most exciting and innovative galleries in London in just 13 years, with a programme that combines the very best in Non-Western Art with work by some of the strongest and most individual artists working within the Western tradition.
Such is its success in the capital, that it opened The Charlotte Street
Gallery in Charlotte Street, in 2000, as an additional showcase
for its artists.
The RHG was the first gallery in Europe to show Australian Aboriginal Art
- and its influential, annual ‘Songlines’ seasons have introduced
much of the enormous range and strength of the contemporary Aboriginal Art
Movement to the British audience.
According to the RHG website (which can be accessed by clicking the link above), the gallery’s commitment is 'to contemporary Non-Western art-movements' which has led to 'groundbreaking shows of art from the Bushmen of the Kalahari, from Papua New Guinea, from the Torres Strait Islands, from Northern India, and from the Inuit territory of Nunavit'.
Alongside these exhibitions, the RHG shows work by a rich variety of British, American and 'European Australian' artists - both sculptors (such as George Wyllie, Justine Smith and Lucy Casson) and painters (such as James Farrelly, David Bromley and David Whitaker). Four of the best young Scottish painters to emerge in recent years - Jo Davie, Helen Flockhart, Abigail McLellan and Alasdair Wallace exhibit regularly.
So who is Rebecca Hossack?
Rebecca (pictured above, Paddy Nelson Jupurrurla at Yuendumu) was born
in Melbourne, Australia, and has degrees in Law from Melbourne University
and in History of Art from The Australian National University, Canberra.
She came to London in 1981 to read for the Bar, but instead followed her passion
for Art. After taking a Diploma course at Christies and winning a studentship
to the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in Venice, she began working in the art world.
She opened her first gallery in 1988 and, in 1992, opened the Sculpture Garden
in St James's, Piccadilly. From 1995 to 1998 she was Cultural Attaché
at the Australian High Commission in London.
In 2000 she was chosen as one of 50 prominent Australian expatriates photographed
by Polly Borland for the exhibition - 'Australians' - shown at the National
Portrait Galleries of both England and Australia.
She regularly writes and lectures on Aboriginal Art and contributed to the MacMillan Dictionary of Art and Microsoft Encarta Dictionary of Art.
She travels regularly to Africa, India and the Australian outback and works closely with the various communities and art centres to gather the very best quality of art-works available.
RHG, 35 Windmill Street, London W1T 2JS. Tel: 0207-436 4899
Opening hours: Monday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm
RELATED STORIES: Three Great Australians, April-May exhibition (2002). Click here