TONY OXLEY (1938 – 2023) is admired the world over as an extremely influential improvising drummer, band leader and educator. In addition to his drumming legacy, Oxley was also a prolific and very accomplished abstract-figurative painter. Visual art was an essential part of Tony’s personality, another way in which he was able to reveal his inner self and connect with the wider realm. Initially encouraged to start painting by his musical collaborator and friend, renowned Scottish artist Alan Davie (the influence of which is very apparent in Oxley’s early works from the 1970s), Tony navigated his way visually across five decades, working his way through many different styles, stages and approaches.
Much like his music, complex textures, spontaneous gestures, and a sense of continually-flowing structure, are evident in Tony’s work. His paintings adorn dozens of album covers and he often performed his music to a backdrop of projected images. Oxley occasionally exhibited to the public in his home town of Viersen in Germany.
This is Tony Oxley’s first ever exhibition in the UK, and anywhere in the world outside of Germany!
All works on show are for sale at very reasonable prices; starting at just £10 for smaller works on paper.
Hundred Years Gallery will also host two special events to launch this momentous occasion.
Saturday 13 June – Public view between 4.30pm and 8pm
Concert performance featuring projected Oxley images with a live score from Matt Wand (sampler, electronics) and Mark Wastell (drums, percussion). Free event at 5.30pm
Sunday 14 June – Public view between at 3.30pm and 7pm
TONY OXLEY on film: screening of Tony Oxley in various concert settings, sourced from his personal archive. Including performances with Derek Bailey (Nancy 1997), Peter Brötzmann (Bochum, 1992), Cecil Taylor Quintet (Hamburg, 1991) and Alex von Schlippenbach (Brecon, 1999). Free event from 3.30pm
Exhibition curated by Mark Wastell and Tutta Oxley and is supported by The Wire
