Full View – Lyon House Museum by James Richardson Furniture

Celebrating the recent major extension to the Lyon Housemuseum, James Richardson Furniture invited close clients and friends to indulge in a night filled with inspiration, art and architecture within the newly designed space.

Representing more than sixty emerging and established artists, the Lyon Collection has grown to one of the largest contemporary collections of its type within Australia. Recently extended, the revised Housemuseum opened in March earlier this year, resulting in the Housemuseum Galleries. To celebrate this major milestone, and to showcase the new works and houses collection, James Richardson Furniture invited a selection of close clients and friends to immerse themselves within the space. Along with viewing the collection first-hand, guests were also given the opportunity to explore the Housemuseum as well.

Generously opening their home for private night tours, Corbett and Yueii Lyon personally took the group through their collections and overall vision for the space. The latest exhibition, named ‘In Full View’, is a showcase of featured works having been moved out of their house and into the new gallery spaces. The exhibition is displayed in a panoramic salon-style hang, allowing visitors to fully take in the collection’s impressive breath and diversity. It is a collection that tells a special narrative of the collector, artist, home and family and is running within the gallery spaces until January 2020.

Representing more than sixty emerging and established artists, the Lyon Collection has grown to one of the largest contemporary collections of its type within Australia.

Located in Kew, in Melbourne’s east, the private tour highlighted a connected past between both the Lyon and Richardson families. Corbett’s grandfather (architect, Leslie Perrott) and James Richardson himself had collaborated on many well-known hotels in the early 1990s. This interconnection of design-focused backgrounds shows an inevitable coming together to celebrate the continued growth and expansion.

Designed by Corbett Lyon, co-founding director of Lyons Architecture, the Housemuseum and Housemuseum Galleries propose a platform for international and local contemporary art exhibitions, architecture and design. The experience is designed to challenge the traditional ways the arts are presented and experienced. The collection builds on a lineage of private art collections previously contained within residential settings in London, New York and Venice. The exhibition spaces are intended to be both flexible and designed for large scale artworks and installations, with 5.5-metre high ceilings. The main central gallery is surrounded by four smaller galleries, each with their own personality and purpose.

It is a collection that tells a special narrative of the collector, artist, home and family and is running within the gallery spaces until January 2020.

Originally designed as a private residence, the home and new galleries are open and available for pre-booked tours. The Housemuseum allows visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in the unique home of the patrons and founders, where ‘gallery’ and ‘living’ come together in unison. Thanks to James Richardson Furniture, a fortunate group was able to experience the space and its impressive collection first-hand.