JOSH LILLEY
GALLERY OWNER
Josh Lilley founded his eponymous gallery in London’s Fitzrovia in 2009. Since then, he’s built his reputation as one of the key galleries in the city’s art scene, bringing international artists to the UK and championing home-grown talent. We met him at the gallery - a former tailor’s storehouse - to find out about his life in art.
Prepare to hustle:
About 20 years ago when I was a postgrad, I lived in Sydney, and I brought two shows to London by indigenous, Aboriginal artists. I rented a space off the Portobello Road for £1000 for a week. I didn't know anyone, but just from people walking in, I sold £50,000 of art. And thought, ‘Okay, something can happen here.’ And I did another show on the South Bank. It was a hustle. I was in my mid twenties, and we sold works to the British Museum, and it made me decide I should open a space and show these guys myself.
Keep it in the family
My mother was an amazing artist, and I was lucky enough to do a show with her six months before she died. She was the biggest inspiration in my life and extremely creative. I grew up looking at pictures, understanding the importance of stories being told, and also the value of owning and taking care of things like that. My mum was totally unpragmatic and a true artist in many ways, whereas my dad had much more of a structured, organized way of thinking. And I think what I do is a confluence of those two tricks.
Have a point of view:
There is an aesthetic link through the work we show here, in texture and colour, it’s quite emotionally orientated. I'm not the gallery to go to if you're interested in theoretical discourse - it's something that's quite instantaneous in how it's going to affect you.
Trust your own judgement:
You have to get to the point where you know that all you have to lean back on is your own instinct and taste. That's the only thing that's going to make me more interesting than other galleries – trying to follow certain trends, or replicate what's been successful elsewhere is not going to be interesting. So I think it's an extension of myself and all the different variations of what turns me on visually.
London shapes you:
The generation that I came up in was after the YBAs (Young British Artists). So there was a ready-made community that was already succeeding in terms of those artists and the galleries that had pushed them forward. I'm from London, so everything that I've known, and I've grown up with, and the art I've seen and where I studied, came from this place. The influence that great British designers, artists, filmmakers and fashion have had, obviously, that seeps through. And everybody is part of that story to some extent.
Don’t be scared of colour:
My house is purple. The 20 stairs at the front are all painted different colours in this rainbow effect. If you look through my programme and if you come to Frieze you’ll see an abundance of colour and texture. That kind of potency is something that I find very exciting.
Here Lives The Origin by Rember Yahuarcani opens October 16 at Josh Lilley Gallery and runs to November 20.
