We spoke with Directors of The Renshaws, Ryan Renshaw and Danielle Renshaw, to talk about their gallery and presentation for Sydney Contemporary 2024.
How do you characterize the philosophy of The Renshaws as a gallery?
The Renshaws’ is a re-imagined commercial gallery model. Our mission is to provide customised opportunities and outcomes for the artists we work with. Artists are of course radically different from one another, and so their needs are unique to their individual practices, career paths and goals. We are fluid and modular in our approach in order to react to these needs. We offer an inner-city artist studio and living quarters and we make available an island retreat for artists and curators to holiday and to reflect upon their respective practices.
Jamie North, Stone In Three Phases, 2022, Installation View, Kulturhaus Obere Stube, Stein am Rhein, Switzerland. Courtesy of the artist and The Renshaws.
You have been working in galleries for 20 years. What’s special about the gallery world for you?
Artists will always be the lifeblood of our gallery. Sharing in the lives of these people, becoming family to them, and helping them in any way we can to deliver their art is a process we find eternally rewarding.
What are you most excited about for your first time exhibiting at Sydney Contemporary?
Despite being a local Sydney artist, Jamie North has spent much of the last decade busy creating commissions for exhibitions and clients all over the world. We are thrilled to be able to present his work back in Sydney to a local audience in what will be a very focused presentation.
Jamie, North Portal, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and The Renshaws.
What advice would you give someone looking to start their own collection at the fair this year?
Remember that when you buy an artwork you are not merely acquiring an object. Rather you are forever entering into the ongoing narrative of that artist’s story and journey. That object – whatever it is – is an extension of the human who made it and now you become its custodian. This is the profound allure of art collecting and why it can be so rewarding (and even addictive). So before you buy, do your research. Understand for yourself why the story of this artist and their art is important, and why should you become a part of that.
Learn more about The Renshaws
