In many ways, Sydney gallerist Brenda May is the epitome of the saying, ‘One door closes and another one opens.’ Having represented contemporary Australian artists for nearly 40-years, that journey has been more like a series of reinvented chapters, than a seamless build.
It is a story of resilience needed in any gallery business, and a nimbleness to respond to shifting trends – and we are not just talking trends in aesthetics or art. The commercial gallery landscape has changed dramatically over that forty year period.
May maps that shift, moving from a bespoke signature space focused on emerging artists, to a warehouse space in the boom of destination art venue thinking, to encouraging black box projects with the rise of video collecting, and eventually moving exclusively online.
So what where the learnings over that time, and why close the doors?
‘Jesus, I could do this’
It was 1985, when Brenda May opened her first gallery in Sydney, in a space annexed to her partners architecture firm. She ran Access Contemporary Art Gallery for 16 years (1985 – 2001).
‘I think I was looking for something that had some substance. My background was fashion advertising, and it was “blah, blah, blah…” I knew a lot of artists – and as they say “architecture is the mother of art.” Robert has moved his practice from Brisbane and we were comfortably set up.‘
May continued: ‘You always hear complaints [about gallery relationships] and I thought, “Jesus I could do this.” Robert said, “Do what you can; do what you know.” And so I started with Australian contemporary artists. I called it Access for a reason – I wanted it to be accessible. We saw every artist that approached us; I had an open door policy.’
The mid 1980s was a very different period for galleries. But May said, whether the economy is up or down, you are always focussed on the same thing.
‘When you are in the industry you are so busy just trying…