How Gareth Gardner went from journalist to photographer and gallery owner in south-east London while searching for storage space
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A little like the exhibition space he runs in south-east London, there’s an upbeat openness about Gareth Gardner.
Originally from Warwick, he studied civil engineering in Southampton before taking a job as a journalist and moving to the Isle Of Dogs back in 1995.
“Mudchute was my first experience of living in London,” he said.
“I was working on New Civil Engineer, a big trade magazine at the time, and it was really good – we had 25 editorial staff, two staff photographers – it was just insane.
“They trained me really well, as they had a policy of employing half civil engineers and half journalists, the idea being that we would cross-fertilise our areas of expertise.”
More media jobs followed, before an opportunity to write one particular feature heralded a change in career.
“I was obsessed with photography from an early age, and I somehow managed to persuade my employer in my last job as a journalist to let me go for a one week course on large format film photography,” he said.
“The piece was about whether architects should be taking their own pictures.
“I loved it and that was it – I decided I was leaving my job and went to the London College Of Printing to study photography.
“That’s what I’ve done ever since. I’ve got a big client base for architectural design now, creating images for magazines and organisations.
“Mostly I photograph cultural institutions, galleries and temporary exhibitions – that sort of thing – and I love all of that.
“I do architectural interiors, getting commissioned by architects and designers to photograph completed projects.
“That might be reportage-style, or an interior that’s hyper-styled to within an inch of its life.
“These different approaches are interesting and enjoyable, I get to meet interesting people and work around the world.
“I quite like the idea that when I turn up to a shoot, I haven’t met the people before and have to make something happen on the day – try to create something to tell the story of their project.
“With my editorial background, I’m looking at the narrative, the story, what they are trying to say, what their marketing objectives are, what they are doing with the photographs.
“It’s quite a niche area of photography and requires specific equipment.”
the birth of Gareth Gardener Gallery
The latter requires space and that’s really what we’re here to talk about.
Having lived around the capital and in and out of the city, Gareth decided he’d like to move back to south-east London.
Seeking a place for storage and to use as an office, he found Enclave – a clutch of artist-run units in Resolution Way and decided to create something a bit beyond his initial brief.
“Paying large amounts of rent just to store things seemed a bit misguided – but here the whole remit is that you should have some form of public-facing activity going on,” said Gareth.
“I’d had a studio where I was living previously in Acton and needed somewhere to put everything.
“So this made me think that it would be a really good opportunity to do something I love alongside my more commercial work.”
Thus Gareth Gardner Gallery was born – to its owner’s knowledge the only space dedicated to displaying photography of architecture and place in the UK.
“Working frequently in museums, this actually relates to what I do,” said Gareth.
“I’m very interested in how things are curated and designed – I knew I wanted to open a gallery and there’s not another one like it in Britain as far as I can tell.
“It doesn’t show lots of glossy photos of newly-built buildings, – we’re not about flattering architects and developers.
“We try to do things that are an artistic and creative response to architecture and place, that capture the impact of humans on our environment by what we build.
“There’s also an aspect of social documentary too.
“The idea is also to try to make it as accessible to people who wouldn’t normally exhibit as possible.
“Putting on an exhibition can be an incredibly expensive undertaking – printing, framing, hiring the space itself.
“I have this optimised approach.
“We print everything here and we have frames people can use.
“We try to elevate all the stuff we have and try to make it look as high end as possible within the context of trying to keep it affordable.
“Architectural photography is very much the domain of white, middle-class, straight male, so it’s about trying to get different voices in.
“It’s difficult to get different perspectives.
“It’s all about getting new stories told about architecture, especially if there’s local relevance to what we do.”
from the past to the future
Previous exhibitions have included Boundary Conditions, with photographers capturing images of the Pepys Estate in Deptford, inspired by a series for The Architectural Review half a century ago and Close To The Hedge – an exploration of hedges which garnered national media coverage and that is set to be re-staged in extended form for the Royal Horticultural Society in 2025.
“The gallery is a small space, but we try to make the most out of it,” said Gareth.
“We try to have a lot of extra interpretational material to put the images in context.
“I’m also interested in getting involved in publishing again on a small scale.
“I’ve always enjoyed working on layouts with designers and art directors.
“We try to do four exhibitions a year.
“I also do portfolio reviews and anybody can apply for free to have their work looked at.
“I’ve been lucky to have had a lot of really nice things happen in my career and I think everybody deserves to have their work looked at.
“Some photographers have exhibited here as a result of that process – it’s great to pay it forward and people can buy the work, although we’re not primarily a commercial space.
“I’d love for the gallery to develop further.
“We’re always looking for ideas to reach as many people as possible.”
key details Gareth Gardner Gallery
Gareth Gardner Gallery is located in Deptford’s 50 Resolution Way in Enclave 10.
Further exhibitions will be announced online in due course for 2025.
Find out more about the gallery here
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