Lindy Lee Roslyn Oxley

Roslyn Oxley is Lindy Lee’s art dealer. “I’ve been showing with her for almost 20 years so she’s an old crony,” says Lee with a laugh. “I’ve been thinking about doing her for five years. Deadlines create the opportunity.”

A dealer in contemporary art, Oxley this year celebrates the 20th anniversary of her Sydney gallery, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery. Representing some of the most critically and commercially acclaimed artists in Australia, she is energetic in promoting her artists internationally.

Lee always uses a limited range of colour – ultramarine, blue, orange, purple and red. “It’s always about my personal symbology,” she says. “Red is about vitality, blood, the corporeal. Roslyn is a fairly fiery, volatile person with red hair. I was going to do her in red and purple but in the end I decided she’s just a red person.”

Lee has been “launching” into portraits in the last two years or so. “I have always used portraiture but up until three or four years ago I always used images from art history. Then I started making the transition to people I know, initially family, my mother, then close friends and now Roslyn. It’s a kind of philosophical transition to include in my practice portraits of people I know very, very well.” This portrait took two months. Lee extends her thanks to Adrian Cook and Rob Scott-Mitchell for their help with the image.

Born in Brisbane, Lindy Lee has work in public collections throughout Australia.