Sculpture in stone at Asthall Manor 17 June to 15 July

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Sculpture in stone at Asthall Manor
17 June to 15 July
on form 2012 was conceived, organised and
curated by Rosie Pearson and Anna Greenacre
The work was installed by all the sculptors,
their assistants, families and friends.
Head gardener: Mark Edwards
Assistant gardener: Liam Edwards
Catalogue design: SteersMcGillanEves Design
Web design: Simon Clayson
Photography: Pooch Purtill
Marketing & Press: Susie Pickering &
Alison Wright
General assistance: Sophie Goodenough,
Katarzyna Dabrowska, Michal Dabrowski
& Jack Swallow
Special thanks to Tom & Phil Walker and their
telehandler, and to all the residents of Asthall
for putting up with the extra traffic.
Our thanks go to St Nicholas Church for their
co-operation. Visitors are invited to place a
donation in the box.
Front cover, Luke Dickinson, Rampant.
Back cover, Aly Brown, Eirene, Anthony Turner, Irish Acorn.
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Asthall Manor, Burford,
Oxfordshire OX18 4HW
01993 824319
www.onformsculpture.co.uk
All work is for sale
12
Sculpture in stone at Asthall Manor
17 June to 15 July
Introduction
The house
and garden
At on form 2012, we are showing work
from 28 sculptors, whose philosophies,
life stories and techniques are as diverse
as the stone they carve. The sculptures
are all for sale and it is our goal to
support the artists by taking only a
minimal (15%), commission. The entry
fee you pay helps to defray our costs
and subsidise the artists. We hope that
you enjoy the friendly and welcoming
atmosphere, in which you are
encouraged to touch the sculptures,
talk to the artists, and amble about
Dedicating the exhibition solely to this
enjoying the beauty of the garden and
one medium, far from restricting us,
all the surprises and delights on offer.
gives us the reflective space to show
These include poetry, site-specific
the enormous scope of the material,
theatre, a series of talks inspired by the
honouring its source in ancient
setting, and a pop-up café, Thyme at
geological history and its power to
the Potting Shed. And there is always
convey rich layers of meaning through
at least one artist in residence, happy
diverse and surprising forms. In her
to talk to visitors informally.
essay on the following pages,
We take great care over how we place
Charlotte Hobson writes eloquently
about the process of creating work in the sculpture, aiming to respect the
stone, and asks our artists what stone garden, its setting within the landscape,
and the relationships between the
means to them.
works. Scale, form, texture, colour,
The process of selection is lengthy and
theme and style are all considered. It
subtle. We choose our sculptors, both
takes several weeks to install on form,
from applications and from dedicated
using equipment ranging from spades
searches for new talent. We also believe
and wheelbarrows to telehandlers and
in visiting as many of the artists’ studios
articulated lorries, and involving a
as possible in order to understand the
generous collaboration of the sculptors’
work and its source. Stone sculpture
and curators’ minds and muscles. Inside
emerges from a consuming physical
the Manor, the Ballroom provides an
process and is made to be touched; a
elegant space for smaller and wall-hung
photograph is never enough to convey
work. There are 169 sculptures in this
the essence of the work.
year’s exhibition, which stretches into
St. Nicholas’ church next door, over the
We like to include a core group of
those who have shown with us before, road to the Potting Shed café, and to
because the involvement of the artists the Old Swan and Minster Mill at Minster
Lovell. We encourage our visitors to
in setting up and running the
enjoy a Swan to Swan walk from Minster
exhibition is crucial to the unique
character of on form. We are delighted Lovell to the Swan at Swinbrook,
to include new (to us), talent, too. This stopping at our exhibition on the way.
year, eleven sculptors are new to on
form. Five have been with us from our
beginnings in 2002.
Asthall Manor dates from the
seventeenth century, but occupies a
medieval site. Its most famous residents,
the Mitford sisters, lived here between
1919 and 1926. It is now the private home
of Rosie Pearson and her family. The
garden was designed and landscaped
by Julian and Isabel Bannerman in
1997-8 and is constantly evolving.
Their aim was to blend formality with
freedom, allowing the garden to flow
into the Windrush Valley landscape
beyond it. This year, the earth sculpture
above the tennis court, originally made
in 2002 from soil displaced by the
swimming pool, has grown in scale. Its
design, modelled in plasticine by Rosie
and created by head gardener Mark
Edwards, is loosely inspired by the
yin-yang symbol. Other artistic
collaborations in the garden include
Carbon Dinosaur above the tennis
court, conceived by Isabel Bannerman
and Rosie out of the remains of the
old heating system removed in 1997.
This year, the lake has been dredged,
bringing the whole watery lower level
to life, and extending the area for
sculpture. Gardener Liam Edwards has
created two living willow bridges to give
access to the island between the lake
and the mill leat. Each year, we change
the areas sown with annual wildflowers,
and those sown in the past are allowed
to self-sow with perennial wildflowers.
Welcome to on form 2012. This is our
sixth biennial exhibition and, we hope,
our most impressive yet. Ten years ago,
we held the first exhibition almost by
accident, when the stir that was created
by the arrival of the Asthall Manor
gateposts led us to daydream about
what would happen if we filled this
lovely garden with engaging shapes in
stone. Today, we are proud of our
reputation as a thoughtful exhibition
devoted to sculpture in stone.
How the Stone
Carves the Sculptor
by Charlotte Hobson
It is early spring, a day of pale chilly sun and blackbirds
in wintery beeches. The garden sleeps demurely, pruned
and tied. It betrays no hint of the rebirth stirring in the soil,
the explosion of exuberant foliage that is summer at
Asthall Manor.
Inside, the long, oak-panelled dining-room hums with the
laughter and conversation of people sowing the seeds for
on form 2012, Asthall Manor’s other, stranger crop – in stone.
At the height of June, the fruits of this lunch will appear in
the garden, with their labels like rare plants: Ancaster
weatherbed, Crema Fantastica, Yorkshire mudstone,
Cornish peridotite, pink Turkish onyx, Tinos green marble.
Some pieces of stone have travelled continents to take their
places among the borders; others are as familiar and
touching as the golden Cotswold landscape itself.
The artists themselves – 28 in all – are as diverse a group as
the materials they have chosen. Several generations are here,
from new talents to famous names with pieces in collections
all over the world. They work in studios under the flyover of
the Docklands light railway and in rusting barns tucked into
the folds of Dartmoor, on hillsides from Yorkshire to Gozo to
Colorado. Some scale their pieces up from exquisite models,
while others prefer to let the internal form of the rock itself be
their guide; one at least builds his pieces up in layers, like dry
stone walling.
After spending a few days in the company of the exhibitors,
however, I am less struck by their inevitable, creative variety
than by the commonalities of their lives. Each of them has
chosen a way of life that, despite modern tools, seems to
have more in common with a stone mason of pre-industrial
times than, say, an IT worker or a businessperson – or many
a contemporary artist. Such are the particularities of this
existence that I find myself wondering which, in the
human-stone dynamic, is being sculpted, and which is
doing the sculpting. Watching one of the artists
painstakingly sanding a huge slab of Kilkenny limestone,
it dawns on me that the more malleable element is never
going to be the rock.
Opposite Dominic Welch’s studio, a tractor crawls up a steep
slab of Devon hillside, opening a deep reddish-brown furrow
behind him. ‘He’s been ploughing that field for three days
already,’ Welch tells me. The day I visit is dull and cloudy and
the open Dutch barn where he works creaks under a cold
little wind. All around us are sculptures at various stages of
completion, rising like some half-glimpsed flock of thoughts
out of rubble, dead nettles, broken stone and dust. ‘I watch
him as I stand here drilling and sawing...’ he grins. ‘It’s not so
different a job. Nine to five. Hard work.’
When the pieces are gleaming in a green shade at Asthall
Manor, it will take a mental wrench to recall this moment in
their creation. At one level, all the sculptors agree, carving in
stone is tough, monotonous manual labour. ‘Very boring,’
says Bridget McCrum briskly, of the first stage of a sculpture
when the form is being blocked out in stone. The noise, the
goggles, masks and ear-defenders that constantly get
clogged up with dust and filth, the winters that make tools
so cold they burn your hands, the bad backs – let alone the
spectre of lung disease from the dust and white finger from
the power tools – in these ways and many others, the stone
chisels away at those who would shape it. ‘Believe me, it’s
not romantic,’ Jordi Raga remarks.
The relentless solidity of stone in itself weighs down on the
life of a sculptor. ‘A lot of it is about problem-solving,’
explains Ekkehard Altenburger. Besides the main problem,
of summoning form out of the rock, sculptors are faced with
the daily struggle of rotating these vast chunks of material,
moving them to and fro to catch different light, pinning them
onto bases, transporting them, installing them... Equipment
must be devised and endlessly adapted, tools must be
developed, wooden crates built. It is a daily round of tasks
far removed from that of the ethereal, impractical artist of
popular imagination.
Perhaps this explains the surprise that many of the artists
display at their chosen medium. For each one who grew up
with a fascination with geology or ancient sculpture, there is
another who, bizarre though it sounds to the outsider, fell
into stone-carving almost by accident. Dominic Welch had
just left school when, deciding an artist’s apprenticeship
would be interesting, he happened to be taken on by the
sculptor Peter Randall-Page. Nigel Watson worked in wood
for years until, out of curiosity, he bartered a couple of
wooden bowls for a piece of stone and some tools. Guy
Stevens had spent his degree at the Chelsea School of Art
concentrating on multi-media projects, yet discovered stone
while he was working on a building site, and ‘it was the
material that stuck.’
Once found, however, there is no turning back. For ‘stone is
addictive,’ says Jordi Raga, a sentiment echoed by many of
the artists. A sense of well-being seems to emerge just from
being near it - a natural substance that connects us to the
earth, that is the earth. Peter Randall-Page suggests its very
density is comforting. ‘It’s solid, whereas most of the things
we deal with are hollow boxes – houses, cars, rooms.’
‘To love stone is a natural emotion,’ says Rachel Schwalm.
‘People feel drawn to it, its tactility, its sensuality.’
‘Stone appeals to all the senses,’ agrees Rosie Pearson, the
owner of Asthall Manor and instigator of on form,
remembering a pink granite staircase in Aberdeenshire that
hypnotised her in childhood. ‘I loved the feel of it, and the
smell. I used to sit there, sniffing it and occasionally giving it
a little lick...’ Sculptors, living so close to the stone, are more
aware than any of the subtleties of its appeal. William Peers
comments on the occasional whiffs of gas that carving
releases from within the layers of rock – ‘Fishy, damp, muddy
smells ... prehistoric air.’ Nicolas Moreton tells me how he will
shut his eyes and feel, rather than see his way to the shape he
is aiming for: and it is the sense of touch that is perhaps most
deliciously seduced by forms in stone. (Do touch, say the
signs at Asthall Manor; and the delight on visitors’ faces as
they obey this order is one of the pleasures of on form.)
The rules of love are as mysterious in this instance as any
other. It seems that once seduced, even the difficulties of
working with stone come to be seen as blessings. ‘It’s the
process of making that is important,’ explains Peers. Every
line, every curve must be shaped using a series of tools, each
one more delicate than the last, followed by six different
grades of sandpaper. There’s no way of rushing it, which in
itself is a relief. As Guy Stevens remarks, ‘As a painter, I used
to produce twenty paintings a week – because I could. Stone
has slowed me down.’ ‘If I wasn’t patient before I started,’
agrees Welch, ‘I certainly am now.’
Hour after hour passes for stone-carvers in a rhythmic,
repetitive series of movements around the stone, like a
dance, conducted endlessly over a few square feet of
ground. They select the tool, cut, step to one side and then
the other to assess how this cut has affected the whole, and
repeat, again and again. The process, extended over months,
engenders a trance-like state that must be stone’s most
potent effect on the sculptor. Many see it as a meditative
practice that accesses profound areas of the subconscious,
as Peter Randall-Page says succinctly: ‘Carving keeps the
body busy and liberates the imagination.’ At the same time
the frenetic, anxious everyday personality is calmed and
silenced. ‘Joy’, remarks Nigel Watson, ‘comes from
disappearing.’
Such moments of transcendence are hard-won. Even
stone-workers cannot achieve joy all the time: every sort of
humdrum pressure is waiting at the doorstep of the studio
to harass and hurry them. At the end of the day they are
filthy and aching in every muscle. Yet behind them the work
remains, evidence of the moment when an inert mineral, the
greedy recipient of all that the artist can give – their energy,
time and intention, their love - takes an invisible breath and
lives. This is the stone you see at on form, filled drip by drip
with a mysterious life-force, like the riot of greenery
around it.
One of the
large images?
I learned to appreciate stone while working
as a master mason on a Gothic Cathedral
two decades ago. As a 21st century
sculptor, I use all the technology available to
me, combined with traditional skills. Stone
sculpture has more to offer than a beautiful
surface; it is a material that connects us with
earth itself. I want to convey our physical
relationship with the ground, and create a
balance between form and surface.
German sculptor Ekkehard Altenburger
worked as a master mason at the Gothic
When I first started making sculpture
professionally, I experimented with various
materials – leather, wood, metals and
occasionally plastics. Recently, I have
focused on the innate qualities of stone mass, colour, texture and resilience - and
take pleasure in the hard graft required to
manipulate it. Since childhood, I have
collected stones and rocks. This natural
curiosity has expanded into a scientific
interest and a passion for geology; I am
currently reading for an Open University
degree in earth sciences.
Cathedral of Schwabisch Gmuend. He
began his academic studies in 1991,
studying sculpture at Bremen’s Hochschule
fuer Kuenste and Edinburgh College of Art,
followed by an MA from Chelsea College of
Art, London. He has shown extensively and
has work in collections throughout Europe.
Recent group exhibitions include
SKULPTUR at Museum Rehmann,
Switzerland; the Sculpture at Glyndebourne
2011 and London’s Royal Academy 2011
Summer Exhibition.
Peter Brooke-Ball
Ekkehard
Altenburger
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1. Faun Portuguese
marble & Kilkenny
limestone,
225 x 45 x 50cm,
Garden E3
Peter attended three art colleges and
Exeter University before embarking on
sculpture professionally. In the 1980s, he
became frustrated with the art market so
worked as a freelance editor and author,
publishing 14 non-fiction books. In the
mid-1990s he returned to sculpture and
he now exhibits regularly in London and
abroad. His work can currently be seen in
the Spanish National Collection in Orense,
Taunton’s Musgrove Park Hospital and in
several sculpture gardens.
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2. Red Atlas
Black & red granite,
rubber, H 275cm,
Ballroom
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3. Equivalent bodies
Pink & grey granite,
rubber, H 173cm,
Church
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4. Tranquillity
Portuguese
rosa marble,
pewter & silver,
69 x 54 x 32cm
(Base: H 70cm),
Garden F2
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5. Brood stone
Altered Cornish
peridotite, rope &
steel, 51 x 56 x 41cm
(Base: H 100cm),
Garden F3
Aly is interested in evoking the fluid and
flexible nature of stone. She photographs
landscapes such as the sand dunes of
Namibia and the stormy seas and dramatic
fjords of Norway. She looks for shapes in
the stone that reflect the dynamic forms
and power of nature: waves, wind, sand.
Just as, in a photograph, a living form can
be fixed in the stillness of silver gelatine, so
Aly’s sculptures achieve a sense of dynamic
life, frozen in the stillness and eternity of the
subtle and beautiful stone.
Peter Brooke-Ball
Aly studied sculpture at Heatherley’s Art
School, London from 2000 - 2003. Since
achieving her sculpture Diploma she has
been based in her studio in Battersea,
London. She enjoys the challenge of carving
directly in a variety of stones, such as marble,
alabaster, pyrophilite and chlorite. Her works
are in various private collections worldwide,
and she has exhibited in numerous shows in
both London and Norway, where she has a
home and studio.
Aly Brown
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10
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6. Endless Balance
Portland stone, rope
& mixed media,
Dimensions variable,
Garden E3
7. Delight Kilkenny
limestone, pewter &
silver, rope, 28 x 28 x
25cm (Base: H 80cm),
Cloister F3
8. A Thought
Alabaster, rope
on limestone,
37 x 20 x 29cm
(Base: H 124cm),
Ballroom
9. Of this bond
Caledonian granite,
lime wood & cotton
rope, 18 x 28 x 21cm
(Base: H 124cm),
Ballroom
10. Rapture Altered
Cornish peridotite,
pewter & silver on
limestone
(Base: H 124cm),
Ballroom
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11. Storm
Marble, turquoise on
Kilkenny limestone,
32 x 21 x 10cm
(Base: H 124cm),
Ballroom lobby
12. Single Helix
Chlorite,
77 x 40 x 28cm
(Base: H 100cm),
Garden E2
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13. Female form
reclining II
Yule marble,
33 x 81 x 25cm
(Base: H 104cm),
Garden E3
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14. Eirene
Portland stone,
180 x 50 x 50cm,
Garden B2
15. Sands of time
Canadian alabaster,
21 x 51 x 44cm
(Base: H 90cm),
Ballroom
Aly Brown
Katusha strives to find the ideal form from
each piece of stone; to exploit to the utmost
the inherent qualities of that stone and
release the magic worked by millions of
years of nature. She sources beautiful
stones rarely seen in Britain, from
expeditions to the Rocky Mountains in
Colorado. Her craft is to create sculpture
that satisfies the eye with balance and
harmony, and perfect finished surfaces
that allow the work to absorb light and
come to life.
Katusha was born and raised in Hong Kong
and lived in Australia for 20 years. Since
moving to London she has studied
portraiture and figurative sculpture at
Heatherley’s School of Fine Art, London. In
2005 she became an Associate of the Royal
British Society of Sculptors and was recently
elected a Member of the Society of Designer
Craftsmen. Her work is in collections in the
UK, USA, Australia, China, Macau, Malta,
Hong Kong, Norway and India.
Katusha Bull
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16. Fluidity I
Canadian alabaster,
63 x 10 x 14cm
(Base: H 103cm),
Ballroom
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17. Fluidity II Italian
blue alabaster,
40 x 75 x 13cm
(Base: H 103cm),
Ballroom
18. Union II Italian
blue alabaster,
70 x 25 x 25cm
(Base: H 135cm),
Ballroom
19. Inanna
Canadian alabaster,
34 x 12 x 12cm,
Office
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20. Sensuality
Canadian alabaster,
55 x 25 x 14
(Base: H 103cm),
Church
21. Sinuous Rose
marble on honed
black granite,
80 x 57 x 25cm
(Base: H 100cm),
Garden F2
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22. Working the
angles
Brucite & steel,
160 x 110 x 90cm,
Garden E3
Katusha Bull
Frederic aims to find happiness and hope
by carving ideas inspired by nature. He
models in clay, which is then transposed
into a block of alabaster. During the carving
process, the alabaster becomes a flowing
movement. The incredible translucence of
the material and his “carving thin” technique
allow his sculptures to distance themselves
from method, machines, hard work,
materials and the carving experience, only
to focus on the effect of light.
Frederic has learnt the skill of stone carving
from sculptors across France and Italy
including the well-known Italian sculptor,
Vasco Montecchi, who showed him the way
to animate and sculpt marble. In 2008,
Frederic was elected an Associate of the
Royal British Society of Sculptors, which
allowed him to start a privileged mentoring
scheme with Helaine Blumenfeld, OBE,
FRBS. He has exhibited widely in the UK,
including a public work for the Peace
Pagoda Memorial Park, Milton Keynes.
Frederic Chevarin
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23. Luminosity
Utah honey calcite,
53 x 35 x 12cm
(Base: H 130cm),
Ballroom
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24. Wing of Fire
Utah honey calcite,
50 x 37.5 x 12.5cm
(Base: H 130cm),
Ballroom
25. Love Hurts
Italian blue alabaster,
(Base: H 130cm),
Ballroom
26. Aries
Patagonian onyx,
32.5 x 37.5 x 12.5cm
(Base: H 130cm),
Ballroom
27. Little Dipper
Patagonian onyx,
27.5 x 16 x 9cm
(Base: H 130cm),
Office
28. Wave Semi
Rijo Portuguese
limestone,
200 x 50 x 50cm,
Potting shed field
(opposite H4)
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29. Dynamism
Moca creme
limestone,
68 x 20 x 20cm,
Garden E4
30. Volcan
Alabaster,
36 x 34 x 35cm,
Ballroom
31. Rêveur
Alabaster,
70 x 32 x 28cm,
Ballroom
32. New Life
Alabaster & lotus
onyx, 4 x 26 x 32cm,
Office
Luke’s work is concerned with marking
progression on a personal level. The
sculptures relate to natural forms and
domestic objects without being either. The
intention is to suggest something ancient
while being new, light whilst having mass,
purpose without being explicit.
Born in 1964, Luke worked as a stonemason
on Winchester and Salisbury Cathedrals. He
trained at City and Guilds of London Art
School followed by Wimbledon School of
Art. He has worked in Carrara and
Pietrasanta, Italy as well as working on a
number of landscape projects in Zimbabwe,
Pakistan and India. He has exhibited widely
in the UK from the Wordsworth Museum to
Worthing Museum.
Luke Dickinson
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33. Rise Indian
black stone,
210 x 20 x 20cm
(Base: H 30cm),
Garden C3
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34. Rampant
Indian forest brown,
116 x 30 x 50cm
(Base: H 35cm),
Garden D1
35. Kink
Estremoz marble,
60 x 80 x 80cm
(Base: H 30cm),
Garden F2
36. Trans Form
Estremoz marble,
36 x 76 x 18cm,
Cloister F3
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41
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37. Accord II
Red travertine,
60 x 43 x 15cm
(Base: H 20cm),
Cloister F3
38. Torso
Yorkshire river
stone, 41 x 12 x 12cm,
Office
39. Doves Turkish
onyx and Indian
black stone
8 x 21 x 6cm each,
Office
40. Bone
White marble,
3 x 39 x 20cm,
Office
41. Ascent of the
Blessed Turkish
onyx, 88 x 12 x 36cm,
(Base: H 41cm),
Church
42. Shoot
Portland White,
70 x 35 x 35cm,
Minster Lovell
Ten years ago, whilst Simon had mastered
many technical aspects of carving stone, he
decided that he had nothing more to say by
using stone as a medium to make sculpture.
Today, Simon presents rock with its alter
ego, as a metaphor for the human
condition. He frequently juxtaposes rock
with a variety of other media: cast resin,
photography, reflection and painted
illusions, as a way of asking questions about
the natural world, and our position in it.
Simon Hitchens graduated in Fine Art from
Bristol Polytechnic in 1990. He frequently
exhibits in solo and group exhibitions,
undertaking private commissions and
numerous large scale public commissions.
He was elected an Associate of the Royal
British Society of Sculptors in 1998, won the
2003 Millfield School Sculpture Competition
and was short listed for the Jerwood
Sculpture Prize in 2004. He is the fourth
generation of artist in his family.
The film industry made Loxley aware of the
transient nature of objects. A short fling
with cerebral malaria established the
fleeting nature of life. To him, these two
things were part of one concept, of which
he hunts down the bare essence. He sees
now that the apparently random network of
interlacing paths has diminished and he is
grateful that the choices are fewer, and
suddenly aware, surprised and content that
they all lead backwards to some beginning.
Simon Hitchens
Jonathan Loxley
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43. Two Faced
Onyx, double
sided stainless
steel mirror,
50 x 50 x 25cm,
Ballroom
After Epsom School of Art and Design, and
seven years in the film industry, Jonathan
Loxley moved to Carrara, Italy where he took
up stone carving. A decade later he returned
to Britain and set up his studio in Wiltshire.
His work can now be viewed at the
prestigious home for British sculpture,
Goodwood Sculpture Park, and in global
locations such as Hong Kong, California,
New York and Cannes.
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44. Other Worlds I
Onyx, cast resin & oil
paint, c-type on
aluminium, frame,
57 x 94 x 7cm,
Ballroom
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45. Mind Mountain
Stone, stainless
steel mirror, frame,
90 x 90 x 13cm,
Ballroom
46. A Plausible
Alternative Granite,
c-type on aluminium,
stainless steel, frame,
51 x 98 x 6cm,
Ballroom
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47. Origin Carrara
marble, 182 x 86 x
43cm (Bench 41 x
151 x 55cm),
Garden E38
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48. Locutus
Calacatta marble,
210 x 61 x 27cm,
Garden E2
49. Strangeland
Zebrino marble,
54 x 70 x 96cm,
Garden D2
50. Nexus Bardiglio
marble, 54 x 45 x
13cm (Base: H 80cm),
Garden F1
51. Destiny
Honey onyx,
80 x 30 x 20cm,
Ballroom
Since childhood I have been excited by
ancient remains, fragments of carving and
standing stones in lonely landscapes. These
objects, combined with the gentle curves of
the hills of South Devon and the stark
limestone cliffs carved by the wind and sea
on Gozo, have influenced my carving. I do
not draw before I start. I like the element of
surprise. If I knew what was going to
happen on the other side, it would never
get made.
Bridget trained as a painter at Farnham
College of Art (now West Surrey College of
Art). She took up sculpture in her forties
after bringing up her family. She has
exhibited widely and her work is in many
public and private collections around the
world. Rolls Royce commissioned her largest
work to date, Merlin, a 4m high stainless steel
representation of the Merlin bird and the
Spitfire aircraft.
Bridget McCrum
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52. Duck weight
Kilkenny limestone,
41 x 50 x 38cm,
Garden E1
Sculpting stone is a physical and mental
way of life. Both are as demanding; from the
ideas in the sketch book to the physical
work of the carving itself. For me, choosing
the right stone is a vital part of the work. My
favourite stone to work with is Ancaster
Weatherbed Limestone from Lincolnshire.
The outdoor works for on form 2012 have
been carved from this stone.
Nicolas has been sculpting for 25 years since
obtaining his degree from Wolverhampton
University. He has exhibited throughout the
UK, including The Royal Academy, Chelsea
Flower Show and the Milton Keynes Gallery.
In 1995 he became an Associate of the Royal
British Society of Sculptors. In 2006 he won
the prestigious Brian Mercer International
Fellowship Award to Italy and in 2010 the
People’s Choice Award at the National
Sculpture Exhibition, Liverpool. Recent
public commissions include a work for
Bellway Homes, East London.
Nicolas Moreton
53
53. Diver Carrara on
kilkenny, 80 x 67 x
12cm (White diver
22 x 17 x 6cm),
Garden E3
54
54. Through the……
Ancaster
weatherbed
limestone, 107 x 40
x 150cm, Garden E2
55
57
56
58
55. Oyster
Ancaster, hardwhite,
limestone & 24c gold
leaf, 70 x 25 x 47cm
(Base: H 78cm),
Garden E2
56. Pink Daisy
Medium pink
Ancaster limestone,
72 x 30 x 152cm
(Base: H 81cm),
Garden E1
57. Magic Petal
Medium Ancaster
weatherbed
limestone,
63 x 30 x 152cm
(Base: H 81cm),
Garden F2
58. Elixir Travertine,
quartz crystal &
electrical light,
45 x 105 x 32 cm,
Porch F2
Carving something is a little like playing
God - I set boundaries and rules and then
let the experiment run. I might for instance
say “I want no concave forms” or “Let there
be a general circular flow”. At the moment I
am employing the rule of “Let there be no
feeling of an end to the flow pattern.” I have
this notion of the energy of the intention
being absorbed into the stone.
Nicolas Moreton
William Peers studied at Falmouth College
of Art. He worked in the marble quarries of
Carrara, Italy, and spent long periods in
Corsica. In the 1990s Peers moved to
Cornwall, where he spent 15 years carving
in Hornton stone. He later turned to
Portuguese marble, and his carving became
more abstract. Peers’ most recent project
was 100 Days: Sketched in Marble a series
where he carved a marble sculpture each
day for one hundred days.
William Peers
59
61
60
62
59. Black Magic
Kilkenny limestone
18 x 5 x 50cm,
Ballroom
60. Sem Deity
Onyx, 4 x 30 x 5cm,
Office
61. Fertile Deity
Brocatello marble,
2 x 42 x 9cm,
Office
63
62. Lover’s Hand
Ancaster
weatherbed
limestone,
5 x 13 x 13cm,
Office
63. Floral Essence
Portuguese marble
and travertine,
20 x 7.5 x 60cm,
Church
64
66
65
67
64. Yen Italian
marble,
170 x 263 x 44cm,
Garden G3
65. Makoto
Portuguese marble,
205 x 56 x 36cm,
Garden D3
66. Renga
Portuguese marble,
64 x 64 x 13cm,
Ballroom
67. Shiori
Portuguese marble,
61 x 61 x 14cm,
Ballroom
Printed in stone, the earth’s history is a
transformation cycle. Our consciousness
plays a part in it, but the scale of a human
lifetime is minuscule compared to a rock, a
continent or the whole of a planet. I observe
the poetry on the ageing processes like
erosions, corrosions and the natural cycles
of life and death. My interest is in
transformation itself, so I picture it, frame it
or put it into words.
William Peers
Born in Spain, Jordi Raga Francés has
studied art in the USA, Spain, Italy, Mexico
and Greece. He obtained a Fine Arts BA
from Valencia and won a scholarship to
study in Carrara, Italy. He has travelled and
worked across Europe including periods in
France on Heritage Restoration and later on
the restoration of the Acropolis and Propilea
buildings, Athens and Gloucester and
Canterbury Cathedrals. He has exhibited
widely in Europe and has work in both public
and private collections.
Jordi Raga
Francés
69
68
68. Wabi Portuguese
marble with gold leaf,
60 x 60 x 12cm,
Ballroom
70
69. Kasen
Portuguese marble,
62 x 62 x 15cm,
Ballroom
71
70. Hokku
Portuguese marble,
66 x 66 x 10cm,
Office
71. Unity Kilkenny
limestone, 130 x
113.5 x 85.5cm
(Base: H 62.5cm),
Garden E2
72
72. Memory of an
oak leaf Jurassic
limestone,
30 x 58 x 27cm,
Cloister F3
73
73. The Trip of leaf
Kilkenny limestone,
12 x 42 x 24cm,
Porch F2
My work is informed by the study of natural
phenomena and their subjective effect on
our emotions. The dynamic tension
between pattern formation and random
variation produces the infinite array of
forms which surround us. I work with these
polarities in a spirit of improvisation. In the
Beginning explores geometric form. This
sculpture evolved from stacking spheres
together. The surface is like a membrane: an
invitation to suspend disbelief and be drawn
into the dark heart of the dumb rock.
Jordi Raga Francés
Peter Randall-Page was born in the UK in
1954 and studied sculpture at Bath Academy
of Art. During the past 30 years he has
gained an international reputation through
his sculpture, drawings and prints; exhibiting
widely both in the UK and abroad, including
a major solo show at the Yorkshire Sculpture
Park 2009-10. His sculpture is held in public
and private collections throughout the world
including the permanent collections of the
Tate Gallery and the British Museum.
Peter Randall Page
74
75
74. Souvenir
from hereafter
Jurassic limestone,
21 x 63 x 31cm,
Ballroom
76
75. Rising glow
Jurassic limestone,
11 x 39 x 15cm,
Ballroom
76. Moulting State
Kilkenny limestone,
7 x 33 x 15cm,
Ballroom
77
77. In the Beginning
Kilkenny limestone,
100 x 101 x 92 cm,
Garden G4
One of the
large images?
My sculpture tries to stretch the common
properties of stone, allowing me to address
new subject matter. It is also a response to
Indian “Jali” work and European medieval
cathedrals. Other influences are advertising
logos, icons, fetishes, French cartoons,
cosmology and 1960s plastic furniture.
Combining coloured stones, smooth and
sharp forms, fat and thin areas is like
cooking. My work is abstract but ideas are
represented formally and symbolically and
the subject often springs from the many
ways we believe.
My work is a collision of two worlds,
painting and sculpture, and architecture has
inspired the proportions. Influences include
American minimalists, and painters of light
such as Rembrandt. Within stone panels I
cut light-filled thresholds to other worlds,
offering a glimpse back in time. The
windows in the wall-hung works are
poignant echoing pockets, where emotions
are suspended in pigment, broken chalk
lines and dust. The outdoor marble pillar at
on form 2012 represents a lone figure in the
landscape.
Julian Rena originally trained and worked as
a chef in London. After a severe car crash, he
began to make sculpture using a wide range
of mixed media. For the past ten years he
has worked almost exclusively in stone in
Italy, India and from his studio in Wimbledon.
Julian has work in public and private
collections in the UK and abroad and has
undertaken a number of large-scale
commissions. Julian is an Associate of the
Royal British Sculpture Society.
Rachel was born in London in 1969. She
trained at North Devon College, Art and
Design and graduated from The University
of East London with a degree in Fine Arts/
Sculpture. She has exhibited widely in the UK
and has work in private collections in France,
Germany, Italy, Russia, USA, Switzerland and
the Middle East. Winchester Cathedral
commissioned a new altar-piece for the
Cathedral’s Venerable Chapel which was
completed in 2011.
Rachel Schwalm
Julian Rena
79
78
78. Crack Carrara
marble, 426 x 20cm,
Garden G3
80
79. Jonah Red
sandstone & marble,
50 x 54 x 27cm,
Cloister F3
81
80. Baby Talk
Limestone,
42 x 45 x 20cm,
Ballroom
81. Steak & Chips
Serpentine &
sandstone,
32 x 21 x 9cm,
Office
82
82. Blood out of
a stone Carrara
marble & glass,
patinated steel,
139 x 12 x 12cm
and 12 x 26 x 12cm,
Garden G4
Inspired by a lifelong fascination with stone
buildings, Matthew’s work takes stone
architecture, particularly the sacred, as a
central theme. Solid stone is opened up to
reveal internal worlds, often intricately
carved, in which the changing viewpoint
and light play a defining role. Drawing on
the formal language and philosophy of
architecture the work explores themes of
positive and negative form, the significance
of light and darkness and the relationship
between nature and human endeavour.
Rachel Schwalm
Matthew graduated from the University of
East Anglia in 1984 with a degree in Art
History, and in 1990 embarked on a career as
a stonemason. He worked on many
prestigious restoration projects, including
Westminster Abbey and Ely Cathedral,
before transferring to Pietrasanta, Italy in
1997. In 1999 he won the Verona International
Sculpture Symposium, and since then has
exhibited in Italy, the UK, Germany, China,
Australia and the USA. He has recently
completed two commissions for Swire
Properties, Hong Kong.
Matthew
Simmonds
83
85
87
84
86
88
83. Minerva’s chain
Alabaster, pigment,
chalk lines & glass,
200 x 19 x 19cm,
Ballroom
84. Core Alabaster,
pigment & glass,
51 x 71 x 5.5cm,
Ballroom
85. Incandescence
Alabaster, pigment &
glass, 51 x 24 x 5.5cm,
Ballroom
86. Hush Alabaster,
pigment & glass,
79.5 x 21.5 x 5.5cm,
Ballroom
87. Slow burn
Alabaster, pigment
& glass, 53.5 x 29 x
5.5cm,
Ballroom
91
89
88. Luminous
darkness Alabaster,
pigment & glass,
37 x 20 x 6cm,
Ballroom
89. Basilica IV
Carrara marble,
200 x 40 x 40cm,
Garden G3
90
90. Study 34
Carrara marble,
56 x 39 x 57cm,
Cloister F3
92
91. Elevation IV:
Mikri Mitropoli,
Athens Limestone,
45 x 13 x 29cm,
Porch F2
92. Regular Division
of Space by Domes
Statuary marble,
42 x 35 x 45cm,
Ballroom
I am showing small sculptures from my time
in Sri Lanka, as well as those in my favourite
Yorkshire limestone. The vast wild space
that surrounds my studio in the Yorkshire
Dales is full of rhythm, line and form.
Limestone, by its very nature, seems to
have a life force – all those micro-skeletons
and tiny shells from long ago. I want to find
what is hidden, what can be revealed both
in a literal sense and in relation to the
human spirit.
Sarah studied figurative art at The Elizabeth
Frink School of Figurative Sculpture and a
year of stone carving in Northern Italy. Sarah
returned to live in the distinctive limestone
landscape of the Yorkshire Dales National
Park. She has exhibited throughout the UK
and has commissions in the UK and abroad.
Since 2008 Sarah has been artist-inresidence near Kandy, Sri Lanka culminating
in a solo exhibition in Galle 2010. Sarah
has been invited in 2012 to Sweden for an
artist residency.
Sarah Smith
93
93. Inner Fear
Lincolnshire
limestone,
58 x 20 x 20cm
(Base: H 65cm),
Garden F2
94
96
98
100
102
95
97
99
101
103
94. The Secret
French limestone,
48 x 20 x 20cm
(Base: H55cm),
Garden F2
95. Holding on
Yorkshire limestone,
125
x 20 x 20cm,
Garden C1
96. Inner to outer
Purbeck limestone,
52 x 36 x 24cm
(Base: H 69cm),
Garden E4
97. Dreamscape
Yorkshire mudstone,
100 x 80 x 90cm
(Base: H 25cm),
Garden C3
98. Rhythm
without End
Yorkshire limestone,
47 x 55 x 87cm,
Garden E4
99. The Core
Cumbrian green,
97 x 50 x 37cm
(Base: H 24cm),
Garden E2
100. Motion blue
Sri Lanka blue crystal
stone, 24 x 14 x 18cm,
Office
101. Motion pink
Sri Lanka pink crystal
stone, 30 x 16 x 12cm,
Office
102. The Wave
Sri Lankan limestone,
18 x 29 x 21cm,
Ballroom
103. Two into One
Sri Lankan granite,
13 x 20 x 20cm,
Office
I carve stone occasionally, in a modest
fashion, but I am essentially a builder upper,
rather than a chipper away! I have long been
fascinated by the fissile nature of slate.
Traditionally, its broad, flat cleaving plane
is what is emphasised. Perversely, I choose
to celebrate the slates’ thin, broken edges,
building them up layer on layer to achieve
a curvaceousness of form. My work
includes spheres, seats, topiary shapes
and formal obelisks.
The four figures in Tuscan Travertine are
inspired by the sculpture of Lady Joan of
Cornwall in the church at Asthall. Standing
outside, they’ll acquire in time the feeling of
weathered tree trunks, conveying a sense of
enforced silence. The two busts in different
stones are instead more cheerful. They
quote a decadent period of Roman
sculpture when form took second place to
luxury, commemorating an age of pointless
imperialism similar to ours.
From 1969 – 89, Joe worked dry stone
walling. He worked with Andy Goldsworthy
on major curvilinear wall structures from
1989 to 1993 in the UK, France, USA and
Australia. In 1995 he designed the first of a
series of dry-slate vases. Public commissions
include SNH, The National Trust for Scotland
and a number of Scottish Regional Councils
with works in private collections around the
world. In 2005 he received a Liberal Arts MA
and a post graduate MPhil in 2008.
Joe Smith
104
104. Pear
Westmoreland
green slate,
119 x 80cm,
Garden F1
Matthew studied modern history at Oxford
and art at the Slade School of Fine Art. In
1968 he moved to Italy and started his career
as a painter. Since 1990 he has dedicated
himself to sculpture. Among his principle
collectors are Francis Bacon and Bernardo
Bertolucci, who used 47 of Matthew’s
sculptures in his film, Stealing Beauty. In
2008, he had a major retrospective at the
Castello Sforzesco, Milan. Matthew holds
two professorships in Florence and Cararra.
Matthew Spender
105
105. Arts & Crafts
vase Westmoreland
green slate,
161 x 40cm,
Garden B2
106
106. Cumbrian Vase
Cumbrian grey slate,
80 x 80cm,
Outside Church
107 - 110
107-10. Lady Joan
Cornwall I-IV
Travertine from
Rapolano,
220 x 45 x 45cm
(Bases: H 70cm),
Garden G3
111
113
112
114
111. Claudia Portoro,
Statuario marble,
brown Onyx,
106 x 78 x 51cm,
Garden E2
112. Valentina
Statuario marble,
Ming Green,
46 x 22 x 19cm,
Cloister F3
113. Ragazza della
Contrada dell’Istrice
Green onyx, Statuario
marble, Pernice,
51 x 27 x 20cm,
Cloister F3
114. Top Model
Statuaria marble,
Travertine from
Rapolano,
65 x 32 x 22cm,
Cloister F3
Through stone, I can express myself both
conceptually and physically. As a sculptor, I
want to do justice to the potential and
energy in a piece of stone. I have a rough
idea, and then let it happen, seeing what I
can make the stone do, feeling my way to
the creation that exists in the back of my
mind. I hope to give the viewer the same
sense of voyage, process and emotion I
have felt in its creation.
Guy Stevens was born in 1971. He completed
a Fine Art degree at Chelsea School of Art in
1994. Guy’s worked developed through
multi-media projects, using video,
photography, live performance and
installation exploring the notion of ‘self’. In
2001, he taught himself to carve stone, early
figurative carvings gradually gave way to
more abstract forms. Guy is an Associate of
the Royal British Society of Sculptors, has
undertaken a number of public art
commissions and exhibits widely in the UK.
Guy Stevens
115
115. Portland House
Portland limestone,
base bed,
73 x 70 x 70cm,
Garden D3
116
118
120
122
117
119
121
123
116. Two connecting
spaces Portland
limestone, roach bed,
130 x 145 x 76cm,
Garden G3
117. Enterprise
Automatic Portland
limestone, base bed,
31 x 61 x 23cm
(Base: H 73cm),
Garden F2
118. Automatic
Drawing 5
Carrara marble,
97 x 40 x 40cm
(Base: H 47cm),
Garden E1
119. Starting to move
Hoptonwood
limestone,
40 x 16 x 16cm,
Garden C2
120. Vortex
Hoptonwood
limestone,
60 x 25 x 25cm,
Garden F1
121. Peculiar Pebble
Purbeck marble,
14 x 33 x 26cm,
Ballroom
122. Cobra
Purbeck marble,
77 x 46 x 22cm,
Ballroom
124
123. Fuso
Purbeck marble,
59 x 17 x 12cm,
Ballroom
124. Cat in the hat
Hoptonwood
limestone and slate,
48 x 26 x 19cm,
Ballroom
I’m currently interested in the potent
symbolic power of imaginary exotic fruit
and modest everyday vegetables, and in
finding universal signs of love and unity.
In the lines and forms of each carving,
I’m silently contemplating the generous
nourishing abundance of nature and its
mysterious ability to provide and contain
the vast expanse of human thought and
experience.
Guy Stevens
Anthony was born in Kenya in 1959, where
his early influences included two meticulous
Kikuyu carpenters. He studied psychology at
Exeter University, returned to Kenya as a
painter and writer, and now lives on the edge
of Dartmoor.
Anthony Turner
126
125
125. Squid
Purbeck marble,
44 x 12 x 12cm,
Ballroom lobby
128
127
126 One place to
another
Purbeck marble,
26 x 20 x 20cm,
Office
129
127. White Cat
Carrara marble,
15 x 40 x 23cm,
Office
128. The Maharajah’s
bone Rajasthani
marble,
52 x 16 x 16cm,
Church
Assorted small
works
Carrara marble
Various dimensions,
Office
129. People’s Pea
Connemara marble,
40 x 40 x 140cm,
Garden E2
130
130. Peahorse Blue
Blue Purbeck marble,
plus Connemara
marble base,
150 x 36 x 40cm
(Base: H 43cm),
Garden E4
Four years as an assistant to Peter
Randall-Page, under the patient guidance of
Dominic Welch and David Brampton, taught
Anthony the traditional Italian methods of
stone carving, enlargement from the model,
and some of the secrets of lifting, turning
and moving heavy objects. Drawing remains
central to Anthony’s work and he regards his
sketchbook as a storehouse of emerging
ideas and feelings.
Anthony Turner
131
131. Fat Black Peas
Kilkenny limestone,
40 x 100 x 40cm,
Garden E2
132
134
136
138
133
135
137
139
132. Irish Acorn
Connemara marble,
46 x 21 x 21cm
(Base: H 70cm),
Garden C2
133. Carpet carving
Kilkenny limestone,
16 x 64 x 18cm,
Garden F2
134. Lovebirds
Ancaster
weatherbed,
25 x 26 x 54cm,
Garden F2
135. Eastern Peas
Kilkenny limestone
with ham stone base,
57 x 15 x 20cm
(Base: H 10cm),
Cloister F3
136. Freerange Fruit
Ancaster
weatherbed
limestone,
16 x 42 x 12cm,
Porch F2
137. Elevenfold
Touchstone
Kilkenny limestone,
40 x 50 x 50cm
(Base: H 40cm),
Potting shed field
(opposite H4)
138. Votive Stone
Kilkenny limestone,
22 x 42 x 24cm,
Church
140
139. Harlequin Bean
Connemara marble,
50 x 30 x 15cm,
Ballroom
140. Blue Lamu
mango Polyphant,
23 x 53 x 25cm,
Ballroom
Lived right, life is creative. I’ve made films,
created objects, studied architecture and
glassblowing, invented things, explored,
started businesses, grown stuff: I don’t see a
distinction. I like cartoons, physics, parasites,
shampoo advertisements, Samuel Beckett.
I want to draw the viewer into experiences
that are shared, visceral, emotional. Materials
already contain feelings, ideas, history;
making and doing are my way of thinking,
using materials like musical instruments.
Ideas spring into the mind fully formed; I
proceed by instinct and experiment.
Having originally started as an architect, Nick
then made films and television for fifteen
years, before studying sculpture at Royal
College of Art in London, graduating with an
MA in 2006. Since then he has exhibited his
sculpture internationally, and won a number
of large public commissions. In 2008 he
received a bursary from the Royal British
Society of Sculptors, in 2009 an award from
Arts Council England, and in 2010 the
Brian Mercer Award for Stonecarving.
Natural forms inspire my work, whether
organic shapes found in nature or the
human figure. Working with stone, I use the
natural shape of the material for guidance
before releasing the form within. The
process is important. By combining
physical and mental energy I create the
desired outcome. I enjoy carving a variety
of stones and exploring their varying
properties, adapting my designs to the
nature of the material. At on form 2012,
I am exploring a shell theme in white
Carrara marble
Nick Turvey
Lucy Unwin
142
141
141. What do you
want to be when
you grow up?
Carrara marble,
57 x 20 x 20cm,
Garden F3
Lucy Unwin graduated in Fine Art Sculpture
at Winchester School of Art in 2006. She has
visited Pietrasanta, Italy several times, to
improve her carving techniques as well as to
source stone and tools. Lucy has exhibited
her work throughout the UK as well as
working to commission, and has recently
sold work internationally to Germany and the
USA. She is currently working from a studio
set in a beautiful valley in the Cotswolds.
143
142. Dream
Carrara marble,
42 x 48 x 25cm,
Ballroom
144
143. Liberté, Égalité,
Fraternité Pink
Portuguese marble,
45 x 31 x 17cm,
Ballroom
144. Lifeline
Carrara marble,
48 x 2 x 2cm,
Office
145
145. Snettisham
Carrara marble,
66 x 100 x 50cm,
Garden C1
146
148
147
149
146. Shell Limestone, 147. Aphrodite
Bulgarian limestone
68 x 120 x 65cm,
110 x 39 x 15cm
Garden E2
(Base: H 33cm),
Garden E4
148. Female Form
Onyx, 42 x 21 x 12cm,
Ballroom
149. Washed Up II
Portuguese pink
marble,
54 x 37 x 57cm,
Minster Lovell
Paul has inherited the ancient fascination
with the potential of marble. He is intrigued
by its hardness and light-reflecting qualities,
and how this can be transformed to portray
the body and the delicacy and flow of
covering cloth. Through a mixture of
classical and contemporary techniques,
Vanstone subtly draws out form and
pattern from the exotically sourced marble,
to create totemic heads and elegant, veined
torsos. His influences include the ancient
Greeks, Egyptians, and Assyrians.
Working with my hands has been a lifelong
trait leading to carving in stone, curse or
blessing. I end up at the bench carving
directly into the stone with little knowledge
of the outcome. I am constantly drawn to
the human form, more recently to Heads.
This year I have been carving a series of
small heads in Cumberland Alabaster,
Onyx and Cornish Polyphant.
Paul trained in sculpture at Central & St
Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College
of Art. He was awarded the Darwin
Scholarship (1990), Royal Academy of Art
Travel Scholarship (1992), and the Henry
Moore Award in 1991 and 1992. Paul has
worked in Berlin, Rajasthan and Carrara,
Italy. For five years, Paul assisted Anish
Kapoor and has exhibited at a number of
major galleries & sculpture gardens in the
UK including the British Museum and V&A.
Paul Vanstone
Nigel Watson
151
150
150. Close
Carrara marble,
200 x 150 x
45cm each,
Garden G4
Nigel has spent his life working as an artist in
many different media, from illustration in fine
pen and ink drawings to woodcarving and
turning. Since 1992 he has focused on stone
sculpture, producing powerful figures and
heads. He was awarded a bursary to travel to
Greece in 1992 to work specifically with
marble. He has lived and worked in Devon
for the last 35 years. Nigel has sculpture in
private collections in the UK and abroad.
156
152 - 153
151. Innocence
Crema fantastica
marble,
210 x 110 x 44cm,
Garden 3D
154
152-153. Green River
Torso (right), Green
Water Torso (left)
Tinos Greek marble,
180 x 50 x 38cm,
Potting shed field
(opposite H4)
154. River Head
Turkish onyx,
142 x 125 x 32cm
(Base: H 85cm),
Minster Lovell
155
155. Singing stone
III Siena yellow
Italian marble,
95 x 74 x 18cm
unfinished,
Garden F3
158
157
156. Sideways
Alabaster,
36 x 18 x 28cm,
Garden F3
157. Egg head
asleep Onyx,
15 x 24 x 18cm,
Ballroom
158. Pouting
Penny Onyx,
28 x 9 x 25cm,
Ballroom
Assorted
small works
Onyx & polyphant,
Various dimensions,
Office
The stones I love to work in – Kilkenny
limestone, Ancaster Weatherbed, or marble
from Carrara – have very little grain, so you
can bring out the subtle, simple forms. For
me, most important is the form. I’m quite
haphazard about the way I find the form
– completely by eye with little measuring.
There’s no real knowing what’s right, but
you get to a point where you think, OK,
that works.
The practice and execution of the three
dimensional object allows the idea to be
brought into being. The audience responds
to the work physically. There is an
intelligence and knowledge within the body
that understands sculpture before the brain
decodes it. For these reasons, I remain
interested in making objects, and using
stone as the medium to communicate ideas
and emotions. These sculptures are inspired
by the biological forms of blood and plant
cells in images taken by electron
microscopes.
Dominic did not have a formal training in
sculpture. Instead, having placed a
speculative advert looking for an
apprenticeship, he was fortunate to meet the
sculptor Peter Randall-Page. He worked as
an assistant to Peter for ten years learning
the craft of carving whilst developing his
own ideas. For the past 12 years he has
worked independently and has exhibited
extensively in the UK, Australia, USA and
Japan. Dominic is represented by Messums
Fine Art, London, where he has recently had
a solo exhibition.
Dominic Welch
David Worthington
160
159
159. Blue Angel III
Kilkenny limestone,
140 x 140 x 25cm,
Garden E2
David graduated from Oxford in 1984 in
Philosophy and Theology and has an MA in
both Visual Culture and Computer Arts. He
has carried out many public and private
commissions in Europe and the USA and was
Glyndebourne’s sculptor-in-residence in
2001. He sits on the Council of The Royal
British Society of Sculptors and was elected
Vice President in 2010. In 2012, he is
co-curating an exhibition at the Chelsea
Physic Garden with the John Martin gallery
and the Eden Project.
164
161
160. Silent Moon II
Kilkenny limestone,
140 x 140 x 25cm,
Garden D2
162
161. Embryonic
Form XV Ancaster
weatherbed,
68 x 85 x 12cm,
Garden E3
162. Rising Form IV
Kilkenny limestone,
96 x 30 x 9cm,
Garden D2
163
163. Giant
Erythrocyte
Red travertine,
92 x 146 x 62cm
(Base: H 62cm),
Garden G3
166
165
164. Double Bend
Blanca de Macael
marble,
65 x 69 x 44cm
(Base: H 105cm),
Garden E2
165. Experiment
in colour I Blanca
de Macael marble
with red paint,
30 x 18 x 15cm,
Cloister F3
166. Experiment
in colour IV
Red travertine
with blue paint,
30 x 20 x 18cm,
Cloister F3
The human heads I carve embody my
perennial preoccupations: the frailty and
quickness of human life, set against the
backdrop of the inexorable and enduring
magnificence of stone. I aim to celebrate
the way nature’s beauty, in all it’s forms,
helps to heal the distress experienced by
our simply being human.
Born into a family of artists, writers and
politicians, Emily studied at Chelsea and St
Martin’s Schools of Art and Stonybrook
University New York. She has travelled
widely, and works and lives in Italy and
Britain. Represented by the Fine Art Society,
London, she has pieces in international
public and private collections including
The Whitworth Art Gallery, La Defense,
Paris, The National Bank of Luxembourg and
St Paul’s Cathedral. This summer her work
will be exhibited at the Getty Museum in
Los Angeles.
Emily Young
168
167
167. Antique Green
Porphyry Head
Green porphyry,
29 x 21 x 22cm
(Base: H 142cm),
Garden E3
169
168. Maremma
Warrior IV
Brecchiated
quartzite,
51 x 30 x 40cm
(Base: H 135cm),
Garden D2
169. Purbeck
Freestone Head II
Purbeck freestone,
49 x 29 x 28cm
(Base: H 122cm),
Garden D2
Helpful information
How this catalogue works
Artists are listed alphabetically, with a
numbered, illustrated guide to their
work, showing its location in the garden
(including cloister & porch), ballroom,
church, office, or at the Old Swan &
Minster Mill, Minster Lovell. The
numbers in this catalogue correspond
to the stone numbers which are beside
the sculptures in the garden. Where
sculptures are in the garden, we also
give a grid reference for the map.
Sales
All works are for sale. Price lists will be
available at the admissions desk or in
the office. If you have any sales
enquiries or would like to know more
about the individual artists or how to
commission work, please do come to
the office, where we are also showing
smaller work.
Events and artists in residence
Throughout the exhibition, a series of
events will enrich on form. Events are
programmed to explore aspects of the
working lives of sculptors and to
celebrate the unique atmosphere of
Asthall Manor and its gardens. Many
events are free with entry to the
exhibition, but booking is
recommended as places will be limited.
You can pick up details of the special
events on our website, at the admissions
desk or in the office. Bookings can be
made by emailing bookings@
onformsculpture.co.uk or ringing
01993 824 319.
As in previous years, we depend on our
sculptors to help us run the show, and
you will always find at least two artists in
the garden, at the admissions desk or in
the office. Most days, artists will give
short talks about their work, in addition
to our scheduled events programme.
Please do touch
on form’s unique ‘please do touch’
policy means that you can touch the
sculpture, not only to experience the
shape and texture of the work, but also
the different temperatures of the stone.
However, please do not push, climb or
sit on the sculpture. It is very important
that any young children are
appropriately supervised and
understand that stone is heavy.
No dogs in the garden, please
We love dogs, so we have provided a
shaded area in the car park where they
can be safely left with bowls of water.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
50
118
34
1
145
1
120
95
104
56
52
132
134
105
48
12
99
to the Church
164
14
35
162
2
131
169
129
49
54
2
106
71
168
119
Church
159
4
111
146
117
Office
21 133
57
58/91/136/73
160
94
93
55
6
163
13
116
156
115
64
22
65
78
36
165
166
7
141 72
114
37
90
113
135
112
79 89
155
3
167
47
1
33
97
53
161
151
98
5
4
107 108
109
110
130
147
29
3
Ballroom
96
82
150
4
77
to the
POTTing shed
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
28 152
137 153