David Nash at Kew

Over the Easter weekend 2013, I was able to go to Kew Gardens to see the wonderful sculpture of David Nash. I have admired his work for many years as he was a visiting lecturer to Newcastle Polytechnic when I was a student there in the 80's. (Now Northumbria University) 

I love his use of wood and the notion of quarrying the raw material from the trees that offer suggestions for the elemental shapes construct by Nash with chain saws.
He uses the natural movement and splitting of the wood in his work as they release their energy after being cut. The material helps to shape itself.

In the gallery at Kew he shows an amazing mural-sized drawing that shows the family tree of sculptures, the relationships and development of the shapes.

The interior of the gallery is a lovely space to display the smaller works, whereas the monumental sculpture is  positioned in the park. Some of these are surprisingly, bronze, patinated to look like wood and scorched wood.

The natural beauty of the wood speaks for itself. This section through a tree is just an amazing natural object in its own right.

In the glasshouses it is a delight to find the sculptures amongst the foliage, inviting comparison with the sculptural shapes of the plants.

The Nash conservatory houses the most elegantly startling cone constructed from cork barks. The nature of the bark suggests something cast off by a creature like a shell. Each bark is different in its unique way inviting the viewer to observe all of them in their own beauty at the same time as the monumental structure of the whole cone.

These images were taken by myself on my phone, so I own the images but not the copyright of them as they are of Nash's work. So if you do use these images please acknowledge the artist when doing so.