Einstein by Epstein

David Hockney seems to be everywhere at the moment. His major exhibition at the Royal Academy has just ended and he was also in the news recently because he’s just completed a portrait on his iPad of Stephen Hawking in celebration of the latter’s 70th birthday. Visitors to the Science Museum, who commissioned it, can see the work. But anyone who doesn’t live in or near to London will probably be disappointed as, “due to copyright restrictions”, it’s not been posted on the web.

Never mind. If I want to see an artistic tribute to a great scientist then I can pop along to the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool to look at Jacob Epstein’s bust of Einstein.

Einstein sat for the portrait at a Cromer refugee camp in 1933 after he had  fled from Nazi Germany. I think it really captures how the great man looked with his wild hair and intense expression – the popular perception of the stereotypical scientist!

Speaking about the sculpture, Epstein is reported to have said

“Einstein appeared dressed very comfortably in a pullover with his wild hair floating on the wind. His glance contained a mixture of the humane, the humorous and the profound. This was a combination that delighted me. He resembled the ageing Rembrandt.”

Other casts of the bust are held by the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, Huddersfield Art Gallery, The Tate, The Science Museum and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. And pictures are available on the web, including the Walker’s website. So there’s no need to traipse down to London to see it.

The Fitzwilliam have a Fact sheet about the sculpture which can be downloaded here.

Henry Moore at the YSP

Three Piece Reclining Figure No. 1 (1961-2)

As well as holding excellent temporary exhibitions the Yorkshire Sculpture park have an outstanding collection of works on display. This includes a large number of sculptures by Henry Moore – a local lad born just down the road in Castleford  – which are scattered around their own dedicated field in the park. The sculptures are on loan from the Tate Collection, The Henry Moore Foundation and London Borough of Tower Hamlets and together they comprise the largest display of open-air bronzes by him in Europe.

I’ve taken photographs of many of the sculptures during  our visits to the YSP over the past three years. There have been some changes during that time, with some pieces removed and replaced by others.

The photos really can’t do them justice. Moving round the individual works and looking at them from different viewpoints reveals very different aspects, shapes and forms. They really need to be seen and experienced “in the flesh”.

Moore is quoted in the YSPs publication “A guide to works in the open air” (a snip at £5, I thought) as saying

Sculpture is an art of the open air. Daylight, sunlight, is necessary to it, and for me its best setting and complement is nature. I would rather have a piece of my sculpture put in a landscape, almost any landscape, than in, or on, the most beautiful building I know.

And I have to say that I agree with him 100%.

Here’s some of my photos.

Large 2 Forms (1966-9)

Large 2 Forms (1966-9)

 

2 Part Reclining Figure: Points (1969-70)

 

Large Totem Head (1968)

 

Upright Motive No.5 (1955-6)

 

 

Oval With Points (1968-70)

Oval With Points (1968-70)

 

Upright Motive No 7, No 1 & No 2, (1955-56)

 

Large Spindle Piece 1968-74

Large Spindle Piece 1968-74

 

Reclining figure : Bunched (1985)

 

Upright motive No. 9 (1979)

 

The next sculpture, Two Piece Reclining Figure: Cut (1979-81), was replaced by “Large 2 Forms” (1966-9) last year:

 

This one was only installed last year but wasn’t there during our visit a couple of weeks ago (March 2012) :

Mother and child : Block seat (1983-4)

 

Standing Figure: Knife Edge (1961) was returned to it’s original site in Greenwich Park last year.

Draped seated woman (1957-8) or “Old Flo” as she was popularly known was originally installed on the Stifford estate in Tower Hamlets in the East End of London with the help of public money in 1962, and with Henry Moore contributing by selling her at a minimal price. It was an attempt to make art accessible to ordinary people and stood on the estate until 1997. By then, the estate had been demolished and “Old Flo” was vandalised, smeared with paint. So she was transferred to the YSP who cleaned her up and she’s been on display in the park ever since. However, Tower Hamlets Council have woken up to the fact that they own a major work of art valued at about £5 million and they’ve decided they want her back.

There was an article in the Guardian about the campaign last year. But there are concerns about siting such a valuable lump of bronze on a working class estate again, especially after the theft of Barbara Hepworth’s Two Forms (Divided Circle) from Dulwich Park last December. So the proposal is to site it in Canary Wharf.

I can sympathise with the Council wanting it back but not so that it can be located amongst office blocks occupied by yuppies from the banking and financial sector. It was purchased by local people for the benefit of ordinary working class residents of the Borough and if it is returned surely it should be installed somewhere in line with the original intention.

The Guardian article suggests a solution

Unfortunately there is almost nil prospect that the borough will raise the money to have Old Flo looked after in some spot outside Canary Wharf. Perhaps the best hope is that, in a true act of altruism, the Wharf might support the costs of installation in a place less favoured than their own estate. The theory behind such developments is, after all, that they spread their wealth around their surroundings. This would be the perfect demonstration.

But we’re probably more likely to see pigs flying over the Tower of London.

 

Henry Moore in the Country Park

Introduction to Henry Moore

Henry Moore and the Open Air

Welcome to a world of Aliens–Joan Miró at the YSP

Last weekend the weather was far to nice to stay at home decorating, so  on a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning we got in the car and drove over to Yorkshire Sculpture Park where a new exhibition of work by the Catalan artist Joan Miró had opened the previous weekend. It follows on from the major exhibition at the Tate in London last year which had been a big success. We hadn’t been able to visit the Tate, so were particularly keen to get over to the YSP which is only an hours drive away (M62 willing!).

There are a very large number of sculptures on display in the Underground gallery, on the lawn outside and on the terrace overlooking the garden. Many of them created later in his career when he was in his seventies and eighties. There were also a number of vibrant, colourful prints in the gallery. Photography isn’t permitted indoors, but there are some images available to view on the YSP website. However, visitors are free to touch and photograph those works on display outdoors.

According to a YSP press release

Miró produced around 400 sculptures and a similar number of ceramic works, the majority concentrated within the later part of his career. The artist viewed sculpture as equally important to his practice as painting although it was generally less known and critically examined.

The majority of the sculptures are cast in bronze. In some cases he incorporated everyday objects like shoes, baskets and items of furniture which have been transformed into metal.

Arriving outside the gallery, the first impression of the works displayed on the lawn  was that they looked like alien creatures. And this impression was consolidated when we went inside and explored the large number of pieces displayed in the three main rooms particularly the third room were there a re a very large number of smaller works on display . So it’s not surprising that Miró himself referred to his “phantasmagoric world of living monsters” .

This one reminded us of the chickens in the Aardman animated film “Chicken run”

This one looks like an old fashioned lamppost that’s transformed into an alien

This one

reminded me of some of the works by Henry Moore displayed on the Park, in particular, these three

I particularly liked this piece. It’s simple but effective.

There’s a number of elements that crop up in a number of the works. He’s clearly very fond of birds and many of the pieces are “Personnages”.

I enjoyed the exhibition and we intend to return in the near future to have another look. There were some impressive sculptures on display. However, I didn’t like everything or, indeed, everything about some of the ones I liked (if that makes sense!). He’d used a very dark, almost black, patina (surface treatment) applied uniformly, on many of the pieces. This meant that the surface was "flat” making it difficult to perceive detail. I thought a number of them looked like they’d been made from plastic rather than metal. They didn’t need to be made from bronze – in fact I felt that as the same effect could have been achieved with other, cheaper materials. He’d also applied colour to some of the works on show indoors . He used bright, primary and secondary colours, possibly using enamel type paint. One example is La Caresse d’un oiseau

(picture source: Joan Miró online imagebank)

I like it. I think it works well. But did it really need to be made from bronze?

Despite these reservations, I thought that, once again, the YSP have created an outstanding exhibition. In this case by working with his grandsons and his Foundation. And entry is free (although there’s a fairly hefty fee for car parking).

Family of Man

The Family of Man, a group of 9 individual bronze sculptures was one of Barbara Hepworth’s final works, completed in 1970, not long before her death in 1975.

With bronze sculptures, there are usually several castings. In the case of The Family of Man there are 6 editions. Of these there are two complete sets, one displayed at the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Garden at PepsiCo, at Purchase, New York while the other is sited at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, near Wakefield. The remaining pieces are scattered between various locations; in most cases several figures being displayed together. There is a group of three figures from the family outside the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield, only a few miles from the YSP.

Group of figures from “The Family of Man” outside the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield

Although she spent most of her life in London and St Ives, Barbara Hepworth was born in Wakefield.  In 1980, only a few years after her tragic death, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park staged an exhibition devoted to her work. After it had finished a number of works, including The Family of Man were retained on long term loan.

The Family consists of 9 separate pieces – individuals starting with a young girl and finishing with ancestors and an “Ultimate form”. In between they cover the various ages of man. They are abstract, but clearly represent people, becoming more sophisticated as they mature.

Hepworth once said that:

I kept on thinking of large works in a landscape: this has always been a dream in my mind. (in A. Bowness, The Complete Sculpture of Barbara Hepworth)

They are well sited at the YSP on a slope, with the smaller members of the family on the lower reaches, increasing in size towards the top of the slope. Approaching them from the path at the bottom of the hill they make an impressive sight – a photograph can’t do them justice.

We always go to look at The Family whenever we visit the park. They are one of our favourite works in their permanent collection. However, there is very little information on the work available at the park. (This is my one main criticism of what is otherwise a superb arts venue). I was curious to know what the individual pieces represented. I checked through various books on Hepworth from my own collection and in the local library without much success and an internet search left me none the wiser. So I decided to contact the YSP. I sent them an e-mail and received a response with the information I was after within the hour! I was impressed. Well done YSP!

So now I know what the individual pieces represent.

Young girl

Youth

The Bride

Bridegroom

Parent 1

Parent 2

Ancestor 1

Ancestor 2

Ultimate Form

The “Ultimate Form” intrigues me. What does it represent? Hepworth was a Christian Scientist and, as far as I can ascertain, was quite a religious person. To me, this figure represents her deity.

There’s a video of an interview with Hepworth about The Family of Man on the Pathé newsreel website where she explains what she was attempting to represent with the different individuals within the group

BARBARA HEPWORTH SCULPTRESS

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In this interview, at very the end, she talks about the “Ultimate Form”.

We all have an aspiration which we share. They may be different aspirations but they are still hopes for the future, belief in the  future, belief in the children that are yet to be born, and the Ultimate Form has the kind of serenity saying “go on working – here I am”

I’m not entirely clear at what she’s trying to say – but I think this confirms my view. The “Ultimate Form” represents an aspiration of perfection, of God.

Barbara Hepworth in St Ives

“Finding Trewyn Studio was a sort of magic. Here was a studio, a yard and garden where I could work in open air and space”. (Barbara Hepworth A pictorial Autobiography Tate Publishing 1998)

One of the highlights of our holiday in Cornwall was a visit to the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden.

Barbara Hepworth, who was born in Wakefield, left their home in Hampstead and moved to Cornwall with her then husband,  fellow artist  Ben Nicholson, and their young family at the outbreak of the Second World War. They set up home in Carbis Bay, just up the coast from St Ives. In September 1949 she bought the Trewyn studios in the centre of the small seaside town. Initially the building was used only as a studio but, as her marriage broke down soon after, it also became her home. She continued to live there until the fire in1975 in which she died.

Hepworth asked in her will that Trewyn Studios and the adjacent garden, with a group of her sculptures placed as she wished, be permanently open to the public. Today the studio is a museum dedicated to her work, managed by the Tate.

The studio is tucked away in the back streets of the town. There are brown signs indicating the way from the town centre but, despite this, we almost walked right past the entrance.

The house was relatively small, effectively “one up one down”. The ground floor, originally the kitchen, dining room and bathroom, was mainly devoted to an exhibition of Hepworth’s life. The upstairs room, which would have been used both as a bedroom and a studio, was used to display a number of sculptures and some drawings (see here for a list of contents).

It must have been quite cramped working, living and sleeping in the house. However, there were a number of outbuildings that she used as workshops and she would also have worked in the garden. There was also a bed inside a small shed in the garden. I don’t know whether it was used by Hepworth or her assistants. I guess it would be pleasant enough sleeping here on a balmy summer’s night, but it must have been cold in there for most of the year, even though St Ives has a warmer climate than most of the rest of Great Britain.

It isn’t possible to produce large works alone, and, like most sculptors creating monumental work, Hepworth employed assistants. These included the notable St Ives school artist, Terry Frost.

The highlight of the museum is the garden. A peaceful, contemplative space (when it isn’t too crowded with visitors) planted with exotic plants and displaying a significant number of bronze sculptures. A number of casts are usually produced from the mould with metal sculptures, with a copy normally being reserved for the artist.  Although the garden isn’t massive, it doesn’t appear crowded as the sculptures are concealed to some extent by the foliage. So different works appear as you walk around the garden.

I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to get up close to the works and interact with them. With a few exceptions, it was possible to touch them to feel their surfaces and experience their sinuous curves. As they’re exposed to the elements, and not inside a sterile gallery, there are fewer concerns about people damaging them. It was even possible to get inside and walk through the aptly named large “Four square walkthrough”.

Exposure to the elements changes them due to the effects of rain, sun, wind and, in a seaside town like St Ives, salt. These changes are clearly discernable on some of the works and add to their interest. Hepworth herslf, said

“I prefer my work to be shown outside. I think sculpture grows in open light and with the movement of the sun its aspect is always changing and with space and the sky above, it can expand and breathe”  (Barbara Hepworth by Michael Shepherd, 1962)

The Tate has an interactive video tour on their website here

Before leaving the museum, we bought a leaflet showing the location of other works by Hepworth around the town. We followed the suggested trail and were able to see most of them.

"Dual Form" (1965) - In front of Guildhall

"Epidauros II" (1961) - In small park overlooking Porthminster Beach

"Rock Form" (1951) - Inside St Ives library

A BBC programme about Barbara Hepworth’s work, featuring her studio in St Ives, “The landscape of Cornwall transposed in sculpture” is available to view via the BBC digital archive

Norman Dilworth Sculptures and Drawings at the Turnpike

Last Saturday, I got the bus over to Leigh to visit the exhibition of works by Norman Dilworth at the Turnpike Gallery in Leigh. It was more or less my last chance as the exhibition finishes on 2nd July. I understand that it will be transferring over to Huddersfield.

Norman Dilworth is a local – he was born in Orrell, just outside Wigan, in 1931 and attended Wigan School of Art before moving down to London to study at the Slade and then later in Paris after being awarded a French Government Scholarship.  Some of the drawings on display were of local scenes from the 40’s and 50’s when he was a student, including a lithograph of Upholland – a view that was very familiar to me.

He lived in Amsterdam from 1982 to 2002, after which he moved to Lille, where he still resides. He’s much better known on the Continent and I found it telling that  although he doesn’t appear on the English language Wikipedia, he has a page on the French version.

The exhibition shows a good selection of his sculptures and some drawings.

I guess that the best description of his style is “constructivist” as his works are abstract forms made from metal and wood that are put together using industrial techniques.

There were two larger constructions made from metal

“Three Cubes” (2006)

The title was a little misleading as the three forms, piled on top of each other, weren’t geometrically correct. They were distorted cubes.

“2 and 2” (2005) was a similar form, only more abstract and the metal had been allowed to go rusty creating some interesting colours on the surface.

These structures being tall and narrow reminded me somewhat of Native American totem poles.

Another larger piece, “Puff Ball” (1985), was a starburst type of structure constructed from tubes of metal

 

My favourite works on show were three works hung on the walls made up of metal plates.

“Turning the corner” (2000)

“Spirit 3”

“9 cut corners” (2008)

I liked the simple patterns and the colours created by the rust that covered the surface of the plates forming interesting patterns. This would not be completely under the control of the artist – the colour variation developing naturally, reminding me of the way David Nash’s wooden sculptures changed over time due to natural processes.

I spent about 40 minutes or so in the gallery – and was the only visitor. I wonder whether this was typical? It seems to me that, as usual Wigan Council have been very poor at promoting the Arts. This was an important exhibition by a significant artist who should be better known. I was disappointed that there weren’t more people in the gallery. There hasn’t been much publicity locally and probably even less outside the Borough. The opening hours don’t help. Just because the Turnpike is in the same building as the local library it doesn’t have to work to the same opening hours, but it does. So it shuts at 3-30 p.m. on Saturday and isn’t open on a Sunday. The weekend is the main opportunity for people to visit exhibitions, yet the Turnpike is shut for most of it. It seems that Wigan Council thinks that the Arts are only for schools as the exhibition seemed to be particularly geared up for schools visits.

I was also disappointed with the lack of information on the artist and the works on display. There were a scattering of art books on a table but, no provision to allow visitors to sit down and read through them. There were worksheets for schools but only a very basic information leaflet for other visitors with no details at all on the works other than small labels giving the names and date. It would have been good to be able to take away a short booklet providing some information and at the very least provide some contextual information on panels n the gallery itself.

Nevertheless it was a worthwhile visit to view the works. Hopefully Huddersfield do a better job at promoting the exhibition when it’s on over the Pennines so that more people can discover this Wigan born artist.

David Nash at the YSP

Last year we made two visits to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield where, as well as looking at the large collection of works by Henry Moore and other permanent or semi-permanent exhibits in the grounds, we saw major exhibitions by Isamu Noguchi and Peter Randall-Page. This year, the YSP are staging a major exhibition of work by David Nash. We went over to have a look at it in August and enjoyed it, but there was so much to see that we decided we needed to go back to have another look, so made the journey back over the Pennines a couple of weeks ago when I had a week off work.

“Black ball”

There were works displayed in all four galleries and outside in the grounds. Several pieces have been created especially for the exhibition, including a permanent installation – the Oxley Bank “Black Steps”.

David Nash principally creates his works from wood, often taking his inspiration from the natural forms of the trees he selects or finds. One aspect of his work I found particularly interesting was his use of “tree quarries” – fallen trees he uses to create several different works.

“Red column”

Some of his works are very large in scale and must have been difficult to transport, move around and install in the galleries. This is particularly the case with “Oculus block” a massive piece of created from  eucalyptus wood from California. The picture below (taken from the gallery’s Flickr site) really doesn’t give a proper impression of its scale.

Oculus Block from the  YSPs Flickr site

From the gallery’s information on this piece:

“Oculus is Latin for eye but is used in this case to refer to a hole that runs down the centre of the piece. The wood cut from the sculpture is arranged against the walls, setting up a kind of rhythm between the centre and edges of the space.”

There’s a simplicity to his works – both in their form and the way he lets the colour of the wood stand for itself, although he does apply colour by staining some of his pieces. He also uses charring effectively. In most cases this is controlled so only the surface is charred, and the natural colour of the wood can be seen in places through cracks and splits.

“Trunk and Butt” – two charred pieces created on site at the Longside gallery.

Unlike many other sculpture exhibitions visitors are allowed to touch most of the works displayed in the indoor galleries – in fact the staff seem to encourage you to do so. (However you are not allowed to touch those works which are charred – too many people touching them would eventually cause damage). Nash is interested in change and is not afraid to let this happen with his work. Wood is affected by the elements and will split, warp and deform even without human intervention as it dries, seasons or absorbs moisture under damp conditions. The changes will be different depending on whether the pieces are displayed indoors or outdoors. The effects can be seen in many of the works on display and you can see how he has used these natural changes as part of the creative process.

Nash also creates living “planted works” where he plays with nature. Examples include the “Ash dome”, “Planted Larches” and “Bluebell ring” created in woodland near his studio. Of course, these can’t be transported across the country, but the final room in the Underground Gallery, the “Project Space”, contains exhibits – drawings, photographs and a video – relating to these works.

Some of the living works will have taken years to plan and realise and Nash must be extraordinarily patient. This was certainly the case with his “Wooden boulder” project. He carved a boulder like shape from a section of one of his tree quarries at his home and studio near Blaenau Ffestiniog and dumped it in the nearby river. He followed its progress  down the river to the sea near Portmadog, filming, drawing and photographing it over twenty odd years until it disappeared out to sea. There was a short video film about the project shown in the , together with some related drawings and other pieces from the same “tree quarry” in the Bothy Gallery.

Not all the works displayed are made from wood – there are a small number of metal pieces – one of them, “King and Queen” displayed near the entrance to the park, a bronze  casting of a pair of wooden sculptures shown in the Underground gallery.

Bronze castings of “King and Queen”

In addition to the sculptures, there were a number of pictures displayed in the exhibition. Again these are quite simple, with only a few strong colours. I also liked his “family trees” , displayed in the Longsight gallery, which illustrated the development and evolution of his work and the connections between the different pieces.

A short documentary film about David Nash’s work and the creation of the exhibition was showing in the main reception building. Unfortunately copies weren’t on sale, but some sections can be viewed online on the YSP’s Vimeo channel.

 

Online Gallery on the Guardian website

Pictures from the YSP Flickr site

The art and science of getting wet in the garden at Alnwick

Last week we were on holiday up in Northumbria, somewhere I hadn’t visited before. One of the many places we visited while we were there was Alnwick Castle and Gardens. Entry isn’t cheap, but it took up a whole day and so was good value.

Having had a look around the Castle (perhaps best known these days as one of the locations for the first Harry Potter film, we went into the gardens. Like most grand houses, Alnwick has large grounds but until relatively recently the main gardens had fallen into a state of disrepair. They were completely redesigned only 10 years ago by Jacques and Peter Wirtz and now provide a contemporary take on the traditional stately home estate.

The gardens are divided into different areas with some traditional features such as the Rose garden and the Ornamental garden, but the designers have incorporated some more unusual features.

The Grand Cascade

Quite a lot of use has been made of water. When you enter through the gates the first thing you see is the Grand Cascade where water tumbles down the hillside along a flight of steps. Every half an hour this comes to life as fountains are activated in sequence to produce a water display. Anyone too close to the cascade when it starts has a good chance of getting wet and quite a few children know this and make sure they are in the right place for this to happen.  In fact, getting wet is one of the main attractions of the garden for children (many who come wearing swimming costumes or wet suits or with a change of clothing). One of the areas – the Serpent Garden – is specially designed to let them. Here there are eight water sculptures positioned at intervals along a snaking path. The sculpture, constructed of bright, shiny stainless steel, were designed by William Pye , each of them illustrates a different property of water, including reflections, surface tension, the coanda effect and hydrostatic pressure. They are very simple in form and the real interest is watching the behaviour of the water. There are panels explaining the underlying scientific principles so there is an opportunity for the viewer to learn a little science.  It’s not often that something combines both art and science, but the water sculptures are a good example of where this has been achieved.

I found the piece entitled Vortex particularly interesting. This was a round bowl, initially empty, which is gradually introduced tangentially through two jets so that it swirls around the bowl as it begins to fill it. Consequently a vortex is created – a whirlpool – in the centre of the bowl.

Vortex

Waterglass - which produces a curtain of water

Coanda - this demonstrates the Coanda effect where water clings to the underside of a smooth overhanging surface

For the children though, the main attraction is getting wet and there is a particularly good opportunity for this with the Torricelli. Here three vertical tubes gradually fill up with water, which is then released at the bottom of the tubes, being forced up through a series of holes in the ground by hydrostatic pressure producing ninety vertical jets of water that gradually reduce in size as the water level in the main tubes falls.  Children deliberately stand above the holes in the ground where the jets will appear while the tubes are filling up, waiting to get soaked once the water is released. Some children, apparently unaware of what will happen, but keen to join in with whatever the other children are doing, join them and are then surprised when the jets shoot out of the ground!

Torricelli

Charles Hadcock sculptures at Wigan Pier

"Sextus" by Charles Hadcock

When I was out on a bike ride along the Leeds Liverpool canal, as I was passing the “Mill at the Pier” I noticed some structures in the open space between the car park and the canal towpath. Curious, I rode over and stopped to take a look. I discovered that there were four large sculptures on display by a contemporary sculptor, Charles Hadcock. It transpired that this was an exhibition, lasting a few months until October 2010. There was an information panel which gave some information about the works and which informed me that I was in the “Wigan Sculpture Garden”.  Typical of Wigan Council, this was the first I’d heard of either the exhibition and the “sculpture garden”. There’s been nothing in the local press and no publicity from the Council. Even a Google search doesn’t turn up any information, other than a mention on the artist’s own website. I think that having an exhibition of this nature is a great development, as is the establishment of the “sculpture garden as an exhibition space (assuming it’s permanent) a great addition to Wigan’s rather barren cultural landscape. But the lack of publicity really shows how hopeless the Council are when it comes to the Arts. The’re very good at promoting sports (which is a good thing) even to the point of being prepared to sacrifice Mesnes Playing field, a green space in the centre of town, so that Dave Whelan can construct his pet  project (which isn’t a good thing), but they do very little to promote the Arts. Here they’ve done something, but don’t seem to have the drive and interest to publicise it.

As for the works on display; there were large scale cast metal pieces, three of them substantial in scale. As I looked at them I felt that they looked like a cross between a “natural” rock like style and industrial fabricated structures. According to the artist’s website, this is what he tries to achieve.

I particularly like “Helisphere”, a distorted sphere  - “12 segments to form a twisted sphere around a central axis …. sitting on it’s side to show it’s change into an eliptical shape“. Viewed from different angles it presented different aspects and changing shapes.

Helisphere

“Torsion” was another favourite. This is “a stack of cast iron rocks that sit vertically in an apparently precarious way” .

Torsion

With both these pieces, the irregular, twisting structure, creates interest.

The other two pieces were “Sextus” “pointed knuckle attached to two identical elements made from cast iron“  and “Transformation”, “a man made fossil from an engineer’s pattern for a water pump encased inside a rock surface, split to reveal the interior structure”.

Transformation

I thought they were less interesting than the other two, lacking the twists and turns.

I’ll be going back to have another look before the exhibition ends. It’s a pity they aren’t a permanent feature. let’s hope that the sculpture garden isn’t a temporary development and that further exhibitions are planned.  I’m not holding my breath though!

Peter Randall-Page at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Summer in Britain has been pretty miserable – with much of July and August a washout.  So when the weather forecast for Thursday was promising we decided it would be a good idea to take a day off work and go out somewhere and enjoy a rare bit of sunshine. As we’d enjoyed our visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park earlier this year, we decided to make the journey over the Pennines and have a look at their new exhibitions.  Set in a country park, with a pleasant walk (uphill!) of a couple of kilometres between the two main galleries, and with plenty of works in the grounds to look at as well, a visit to the YSP is a good way to combine a bit of culture with some exercise in the countryside.

The exhibition in the Underground gallery, with some works displayed outdoors on the lawn, showed works by Peter Randall-Page, a British sculptor. There are over 50 pieces in the exhibition, many of them large scale sculptures carved from granite boulders and other rocks,  including two massive pieces, “Corpus” and “Fructus”, each weighing more than 13 tonnes and over two metres high, that were  created especially for YSP from Kilkenny limestone .

I really liked his large scale sculptures. They were abstract pieces with complex patterns carved into their surface. My natural reaction was to want to touch them, to feel their surface and texture. It was possible to do this for the pieces displayed outdoors, but this was strictly prohibited for the work inside the gallery.

Indoors there were three large spaces, each displaying a number of sculptures together with works created from tiles, fragments of fired brick clay, which were used to create symmetrical abstract patterns on the wall. In a fourth room there were smaller works, which were really experiments, trial pieces and models for larger sculptures, together with sketches and drawings. These allowed the viewer to get an idea of the process involved in the development of his ideas and works.

The larger stone sculptures reminded me of some of the pieces displayed during our visit in April, when there was an exhibition of works by Isamu Noguchi. He was obviously an influence and I later read in the exhibition guide theat they had corresponded in the 1970′s.

In the entrance space there were four spectacular pieces collectively titles “Shapes in the Clouds (Plato Dreaming of Artemis)”, smaller in scale than most of the other sculptures. They were carved from a stunning marble, which had a structure which revealed very fine delicate, swirling patterns. I could see why the artist compared them to clouds, but J said that they reminded her of the patterns that you can see on Jupiter and the other gas giants and I think that this was a good description of how they looked.

Unfortunately photography was not allowed inside the gallery, but I was able to take some photographs of the works displayed outdoors (and to touch them!). The Guardian has some pictures of the exhibition, including works from inside the gallery, on its website.  There are also reviews by the Guardian and New Statesman.

"In Mind of Monk"

"Multiplication by Division"

"Secret Life IV"