Art, Celebrities and Saatchi - An interview with Simon Oldfield

Art, Celebrities and Saatchi - An interview with Simon Oldfield

29 October, 2010
by: Tom Jeffreys

Tom Jeffreys chats to the Director of Simon Oldfield Contemporary Art.

Very few people genuinely love their job. I do, mostly, and so it seems does Simon Oldfield, the 32 year-old Director of the aptly named Simon Oldfield Gallery. The gallery was set up in 2008 and back in June he opened a permanent gallery space just near to Covent Garden. The last exhibition, Base Metal, was great, so I decided to return to the gallery in order to check out the current show, Modern Love, have a chat with Simon in the gallery and then have a few drinks in The French House (where I neglected to record our conversation and promptly forgot everything we discussed). Anyway, the gist of it has stayed with me...

...And that gist primarily is how much enthusiasm Simon has for what he's doing. As he talks me through the current exhibition – a cross-generational show exploring the ideas of Modernism and its legacy today – his love of a challenge is infectious. “One of my aims when I started the gallery,” he explains, “was to show cross-generational artists, because I don't think there are many galleries doing that kind of thing. It's good to put the work of young artists in context – they've drawn references from some of these more established artists."

Likewise the gallery itself presents its own challenges. Spread across three rooms in an old town house packed with period details, the space is an unusual one, but it works. “It's quite domestic in many ways. Because of its shape, the way it's laid out, the fireplace and everything, I have to resist the urge to hang the show in my mind in advance. The ceilings are all crooked, and so are the floors, so everything has to be done by eye – you can't use a spirit level. Nothing actually is straight!”

Despite these different little challenges (or perhaps because of them), the show hangs together with a subtle clarity and balance. I particularly like a pair of drawings hanging above the fireplace by Roy Voss, a large-scale mixed media painting by Andrea Medjesi-Jones, Daniel Sturgis' deceptively simple abstract painting, and two spindly mathematically-influenced mixed media constructions by Daniel Wallis. 

Simon works ckisely and carefully with a selection of artists including Tim Ellis (who featured in the space's inaugural show, New Symphonies) Ryan Leigh and Sam Knowles (who were both in Base Metal). In 2008 he set up The Bloomsbury Studio, a subsidised live/work space for young artists, and he's always keen to be there at an early stage in a career. “I get to know second year and final year students at places like the Royal Academy and Slade. I tend to follow people from their BA through their MA, building up a relationship with them.”

“Waiting to pounce?” I suggest.

“Haha! You get to know artists over a number of years and get to understand the way their work. It's a gradual process, but exciting, and I think it's really important.”

The way in which Simon works closely with young artists is echoed on the other side of the business by the way he understands the varying demands of art collectors. “Every relationship with a collector is different. Take Tim Ellis for example – he sold his entire degree show to Saatchi, and then we were delighted to place his recent work from the New Symphony show with Saatchi as well, which was then exhibited in Newspeak. But I also love working with new collectors – for example, I've just started working with a lovely young gentleman whostarted collecting a few months ago. He's since bought three pieces: a Roy Voss and two pieces by Ryan Leigh. And those kind of collectors can be just as exciting because they could well become the big collectors of the future.”

Simon's dedication, ambition and enthusiasm are clearly rubbing off – there's a definite buzz around the gallery at the moment. Private views have been celeb-packed, critical reception has been good, and sales – particularly for a relatively new gallery – have been strong. And there's some exciting projects in the pipeline, including a Ben Ashton solo show in February, as well as various group shows and off-site projects, including curating the art for Pollen Street Social, a new restaurant opening in Mayfair later this year. Food and art combined? No wonder he loves his job.


Modern Love is at Simon Oldfield Contemporary Art until 12th November 2010. 

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Images, top to bottom, left to right: Simon Oldfield with Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings; Nicky Haslam and Simon Oldfield; Juliet Oldfield and Matt Horne; Daniel Wallis.

Tom Jeffreys