Dominik Mersch: Broad Canvas

Dominik Mersch Gallery is long established amid the leafy streets and opulent real estate of Sydney’s harbourside Rushcutters Bay. Renowned for the consistent diversity of its curation and its firmly international roster, the gallery’s existence owes itself to a mere hunch on the part of its owner, and a degree of blind faith.

At the age of seven, Mersch’s father ignited in his German born seven-year-old son a passion for contemporary art when he took him to the Kassel Documenta exhibition. Fast forward several decades, during which time he had pursued a successful career in biomechanical engineering across Germany and the UK, Mersch visited Sydney and became enchanted with the city and the possibilities it offered. In 2006, acting on intuition, he relocated to Sydney to open his gallery, he says, “not knowing a single artist, curator or collector”. For its first seven years, the gallery was on Danks Street in inner-city Waterloo, before the move to Rushcutters Bay in 2013.

The trust in a strong gut feeling that propelled Mersch to open a gallery on the other side of the world, is also his approach as a dealer. Noone and nothing is off limits for representation and exhibition, as long as it strikes him on a visceral, instinctive level. “I rely on intuition and emotional connection when selecting artists for the gallery – commercial considerations are not my primary motivation,” he says.

“I’m drawn to art that is both intellectually rigorous and visually striking, work that engages the mind while stirring the emotions. I seek artists whose practices are conceptually grounded yet move the viewer in profound and unexpected ways. Art must provoke, challenge or move you.”

The question of which exhibitions have especially stood out for Mersch over nearly 20 years in business is unfair, but he reluctantly cites three: those from Francis Alÿs, Joseph Albers and Gregor Schneider. All three artists are European, yet Mersch is at pains to emphasise that his Australian artists do not play second fiddle. He sees his Sydney dealership in a truly global context. In fact, over the past two decades, he has been at the heart of what he describes as an “increasing openness to international art” among Australian collectors. “When I first introduced international artists into the commercial gallery sector here, it was relatively uncommon. By the mid-2010s, partly due to global developments like Art Basel Hong Kong, there was a clear shift – Australian audiences and collectors became more receptive to international voices.”

Mersch aims to adhere to principles of integrity and transparency in his interactions with both collectors and artists. He views these relationships as “long-term engagements built on mutual respect, rather than purely transactional,” and he is committed to providing artists with opportunities to broaden their practice and take creative risks.

His support for artists extends beyond his gallery’s stable to the Dominik Mersch Gallery Artist Award. Each year he visits the National Art School (NAS) Masters postgraduate exhibition in Sydney where, in collaboration with (NAS), he select the winning artist who is offered a solo exhibition at the gallery. “Offering an exhibition space to show their works is the best way to support emerging and promising artists,” says Mersch.

Another way Mersch has influenced the local art scene over the years is to encourage collectors to stick with individual artists as they build a collection – an approach that, he believes, can lead to a more fulfilling, and perhaps personal experience of collecting.

“In Europe, where I began collecting, there’s a strong tradition of collecting deep, identifying an emerging artist and following their journey over the years, building a comprehensive collection that reflects the evolution of their practice.

“By contrast, I’ve observed a tendency in Australia to collect wide, purchasing a single, recognisable work from the artist, then moving on. At the gallery, we encourage collectors to go deep – it’s infinitely more rewarding to build a lasting relationship with both the artist and the gallery. These connections are vital to fostering a thriving artistic ecosystem.”