Curatorial

Simon Oldfield devised and curated the first major programme combining art and literature at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Since 2014, working alongside writer and podcaster, Elizabeth Day and the RA's Artistic Director, Tim Marlow, Simon has curated a critically acclaimed  programme of performances, talks and interviews with world-leading artists, authors and thinkers who respond to the themes of the RA's exhibitions.  In partnership with Pindrop, highlights include Stephen Fry reading Bethan Robert's award-winning short story during the Summer Exhibition, Dame Eileen Atkins and Dame Sian Philips performing in response to Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932 (pictured); Booker Prize-winners Graham Swift and Ben Okri reading their own short stories against the backdrop of Charles I: King and Collector and Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse; and bestselling author William Boyd reading selected stories amongst the soaring installations of the Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined exhibition. 

In 2015, the programme expanded to include the RA & Pindrop Short Story Award, which discovered new writers including award-winning and Booker-nominated authors.  Born out of this programme was a bestselling book, A Short Affair, edited and curated by Simon Oldfield, featuring original short fiction by bestselling writers with newly commissioned artworks by Tracey Emin and other artists from the RA.

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Simon Oldfield collaborated with the Contemporary Art Society to present works from the Tate Collection and Archive in an exhibition curated by artist Yane Calovski.  The installation at Tate Britain, Ponder Pause Process (a Situation), was part of Tate’s Art Now programme and included works by Liam Gillick, Francis Alys, Vito Acconci, Joseph Beuys, Emma Kay, Christopher Wool, Henri Matisse, Jeff Wall, an unpublished manuscript by Sven Berlin, and the mediative sound work A Flock of Rotation by French artist Samon Takahashi.  The installation aimed to question a range of preconceptions and assumptions that relate to the Tate Collection and conservation of art. 

Image: Installation view of ‘Ponder Pause Process (A Situation)’ at Tate Britain, London, 2010. Photo: Joe Plommer and Matthew Blaney

Simon Oldfield and his team curated and produced a five-year multi-disciplinary programme of exhibitions, cultural events and artist residences across the Grosvenor Estate's property portfolio, with locations at Carlos Place, Mount Street and Duke Street.  

During this time, Simon also created the curatarial framework for art in the public realm across Mayfair, which continues to inform Grosvenor Estate's approach to public art. Simon also edited and published a quarterly arts magazine, Square, to accompany the programme.

Image: Seduction, Simon Foxall, Carlos Place, Mayfair

Simon Oldfield enjoys a longstanding relationship with Hauser & Wirth, which begun with an invitation to curate and host an event at Hauser & Wirth Somerset. 

Image: Russell Tovey and Simon Oldfield on stage at Hauser & Wirth Somerset. Russell  read Heart's Last Pass by Douglas W. Milliken, a story from A Short Affair, followed by a conversation about the marriage of art and literature.  Listen to Russell's reading on the Pindrop podcast here. 

In 2008, Simon Oldfield Gallery opened in Soho with "Ascension", which included one of the first solo presentations of paintings by Michael Armitage.

The gallery subseqently moved to East London before establishing a permanent location in Covent Garden, and finally Mayfair. Across a decade, Simon Oldfield Gallery exhibited artists including Eddie Peake, Fiona Banner, Roger Hiorns, Chris Ofili, Katie Cuddon, Juno Calypso, Neal Tait, Jonathan Trayte, Alison Wilding, Mark Titchner and Michael Dean. 

The exhibition programme received widespread critical acclaim and enjoyed the support of the Whitechapel Gallery, the Contemporary Art Society through their curator-led tours programme. 

Collaborations included James Long's Spring/Summer Collection Presentation 2011/2012, GQ Style Art x Fashion, and the launch of Pindrop by Simon Oldfield and writer, podcaster and broadcaster Elizabeth Day. 

Image: New Sympony, Carlos Place, Mayfair