Wykeham Gallery Turns 35!

Local contemporary art gallery celebrates its 35th anniversary.
April 8, 2021

Located in Stockbridge, Hampshire, The Wykeham Gallery is a popular art gallery that exhibits all media, sculpture and ceramics. The Gallery showcases work by a variety of artists, some well established, others up and coming.

 

 

Gerald Dodson bought the gallery 20 years ago and is pleased to say that it has now been open for a total of 35 successful years.

Gerald commented: “We have created in Stockbridge an equal to the best of any West End London gallery through the offering of original art of nearly all media. This would not have been possible without the unstinting support of our clients and our hugely talented artists.”

It’s not just the number of artists that Wykeham Gallery showcases that has grown. Over the years, the gallery itself has also grown by a physical extension of the space.

In 2017 Gerald opened the gallery’s very own sculpture garden, exhibiting an array of bronzes, ceramics and a collection of glass by acclaimed glass blower Adam Aaronson. There are also some monumental garden objects including a slate water feature along with huge Far Eastern ceramic garden urns and their latest feature, the Fern Sphere, which sits in pride of place in the wild garden.

In Gerald’s 20 years of ownership, he estimates that the business turnover has increased by an impressive 300%. However, it has not all been plain sailing - especially in the last year. Due to the pandemic, The Wykeham Gallery had to close for three months in 2020, which compounded the previous uncertainty that Brexit brought in 2019, which froze the market.


To get around this, Gerald made the decision to invest in his website thereby enabling the gallery to become an online store in January 2020, which has certainly helped during the gallery’s closures in 2020 and 2021.

The gallery’s online presence also helped elsewhere. ”We did not cancel a single show during 2020 despite the pandemic. These events were transformed into virtual events. We also plan on a record  number of shows this year. We have invested heavily in SEO, social media and marketing to boost our presence and turnover.”

With 2021 well underway and the gallery celebrating its 35th anniversary, the plans for business growth are not slowing down. On 5 March 2021, The Wykeham Gallery hosted Edward Hutchison's first one-man show as a virtual event. It will showcase a range of work by the artist on the theme of closely observed landscapes.

About the author

Emily Wilkinson