Sansom, as ever, stands apart. His paintings may be beautiful, in a mercurial kind of way, yet beauty is but one of their many strengths. These are urgent works of art that dare to describe the workings of the mind. They are large, cacophonous, unstable and sometimes quite terrifying.

—Sebastian Smee, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic

Exhibition Dates: 2 March – 26 March 2022

Sansom, as ever, stands apart. His paintings may be beautiful, in a mercurial kind of way, yet beauty is but one of their many strengths. These are urgent works of art that dare to describe the workings of the mind. They are large, cacophonous, unstable and sometimes quite terrifying.
—Sebastian Smee, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic

Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery is thrilled to present new paintings by Gareth Sansom in a special solo exhibition marking the gallery’s 40th anniversary. Sansom was the inaugural exhibition when Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery first opened in March 1982. Forty years on, Sansom continues to be one of the few truly original voices in contemporary Australian art and has always remained a hardcore iconoclast.

Sansom is one of Australia’s most revered painters, a pre-eminent figure of the Australian avant-garde for over fifty years. Eschewing his traditional love of montage, the artist relies on eccentric mark-making and belligerent colouration. Sansom came to prominence in the 1960s as a radical convention-breaking painter, with influences ranging from Picasso and Jean Dubuffet to Francis Bacon and British pop art. Sansom’s luridly coloured and densely layered paintings explore physical, psychological and material transformation; they begin as one thing but swiftly morph into another.

In this impressive suite of thirty-one new paintings, Sansom rallies against his own control and consciousness in his work – he aspires to constantly surprise and challenge himself as an artist. The psychological landscapes in ‘Gareth Sansom’ marry not only abstraction and figuration but also entirely different visual registers, from photography and stencilling to diagrams, caricatures and writing - the result is a surreal, dazzling cacophony of lyrical effusion.
—Claire Vis-Le

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Gareth Sansom What would Confucius say?, 2022; oil on linen; 183 x 244 cm; more info; enquire
What would Confucius say?, 2022
oil on linen
183 x 244 cm
Gareth Sansom No not what you think, 2020-22; oil, enamel, and collage on linen; 183 x 244 cm; more info; enquire
No not what you think, 2020-22
oil, enamel, and collage on linen
183 x 244 cm
Gareth Sansom Good and bad design (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde), 2022; oil on linen; 183 x 244 cm; more info; enquire
Good and bad design (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde), 2022
oil on linen
183 x 244 cm
Gareth Sansom ELIXIR, 2021; oil on linen; 183 x 244 cm; more info; enquire
ELIXIR, 2021
oil on linen
183 x 244 cm
Gareth Sansom Juxtaposition, 2021; oil on linen; 183 x 244 cm; more info; enquire
Juxtaposition, 2021
oil on linen
183 x 244 cm
Gareth Sansom Hope is at hand, 2020; oil on linen; 152 x 122 cm; more info; enquire
Hope is at hand, 2020
oil on linen
152 x 122 cm
Gareth Sansom Figure on red with box and disc, 2021; oil on linen; 152 x 122 cm; more info; enquire
Figure on red with box and disc, 2021
oil on linen
152 x 122 cm
Gareth Sansom The visitor, 2021; oil on linen; 152 x 122 cm; more info; enquire
The visitor, 2021
oil on linen
152 x 122 cm
Gareth Sansom MUSE, 2021; oil on linen; 152 x 122 cm; more info; enquire
MUSE, 2021
oil on linen
152 x 122 cm
Gareth Sansom Atomic Lanes Singles Classic Irene, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 92 x 92 cm; more info; enquire
Atomic Lanes Singles Classic Irene, 2021
mixed media on plywood
92 x 92 cm
Gareth Sansom THE LANE TAPE, 2020; oil and enamel on linen; 122 x 122 cm; more info; enquire
THE LANE TAPE, 2020
oil and enamel on linen
122 x 122 cm
Gareth Sansom David's Mardi Gras, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
David's Mardi Gras, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom William S. Burroughs, 2022; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
William S. Burroughs, 2022
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Smile, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Smile, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom The Aristocrats, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
The Aristocrats, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Destroy All Monsters, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Destroy All Monsters, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Memories, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Memories, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom History, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
History, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Café de Flore, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Café de Flore, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Let’s get happy (with Chris Johanson), 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Let’s get happy (with Chris Johanson), 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Let's dance, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Let's dance, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom STRAP-ON, 2022; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
STRAP-ON, 2022
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Strike a pose, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Strike a pose, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Mortality, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Mortality, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Warrior, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Warrior, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Self portrait with plague mask, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Self portrait with plague mask, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Ménage à trois, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Ménage à trois, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Tower, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Tower, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Tablet, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Tablet, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Nostalgia, 2021; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Nostalgia, 2021
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm
Gareth Sansom Hydrangeas, 2022; mixed media on plywood; 80 x 60 cm; more info; enquire
Hydrangeas, 2022
mixed media on plywood
80 x 60 cm