Art in the garden

Art in the garden

How do you see art in the garden? Perhaps you are looking for the perfect complement to your
garden’s theme, such as a Japanese lantern or a classic marblestatue. Maybe you see a rt in the gardens as culptureas a canny investment for the future. Art in the garden might highlight an
unused area or hide an ugly one. Or art in the garden could just make you really, truly happy.

No matter what your motivation for art in the garden, you should visit as many sculpture gardens, parks and exhibitions as you can, to figure out what you like and why.‘There is no accounting for taste,’ says Eddie Powell of the Pride of the Valley Sculpture Park in Surrey, with more than 200 pieces of outdoor art on display in 10 acres of arboretum and water gardens. ‘Most people buy what they are comfortable living with, and the work is usually a reflection of their personality, which could be conservative,adventurous or flamboyant.’

MATERIALWHIRL FOR ART IN THE GARDEN

Garden designer Rachel Bebb agrees: ‘The best reason for buying a piece is because you like
art in the garden.’ She runs The Garden Gallery in Hampshire, where she shows and sells diverse styles of sculpture from 60 artists in different materials. Personal taste aside, she knows the existing style of a garden and a suitable material are two of the main considerations when choosing a work.
‘Most sculptures,whetherfigurative or abstract, are at home in country gardens,’ she says. ‘The
gentlewarm limestonesand sandstones that form the backbone of our landscape suit the British light and withstand the weather,but Italian marble increasingly finding homes in English gardens too.
Stone art in the garden resin (made from resin mixed with stone dust) is a robust medium for garden sculpture.

‘Bronze art sculpture is costly,but this is because of the lengthy, complex process necessary to transform the sculptor’so riginal into the finished piece. Art in the garden might be colored using oxidizing agents applied chemically in soft blues or greens, or even white, rather than traditional brown, and these colors harmonies successfully with plants and ardens. Bronze art in the garden resin is a cheaper alternative, but be warned: it will not last as long outdoors and can lack quality,’ says Rachel. Modern art in the garden materials are becoming popular for design edge and ease of care. ‘If your garden is ultra-modern and minimal, an abstract stainless steel sculpture could complete the picture, especially combined with white-stemmed birches and plants such as white variegated hostas or Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety’,or art in the garden placed near water to interact with the play of light,’says Rachel.

‘An abstract sculpture in white marble would also look striking in a contemporary setting. ‘Glass is a beautiful medium,’she continues.‘It reflects light and nearby plants and trees; sparkles on sunny, frosty mornings; and harmonises with water. Whether kiln-formed or bonded, art in the garden
with stands harsh weather and is easy to care for.’

Other art in the garden materials popular these days include wood, ceramic, wire, iron and anything recycled, but the one thing to keep in mind when choosing a piece of art is that it is built to cope
with everything the outdoors can throw at it, from low and high temperatures to rain, wind, ice and sun, and, of course, wildlife.

EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE

Setting a art in the garden work takes careful thought about the style and location of the garden, the scale of the piece and its purpose. Is it to be a focal point at the end of a vista or framed by an arch? Do you want to connect the art in the garden to the house with common elements?
The art in the garden piece might add drama and interest if it is hidden around a corner or among plants to surprise visitors, or an extra dimension when sited by water. To be viewed from all sides, art in the garden can be placed in the centre of a lawn, or to stand out it can be set in front of a simple background such as a bank of green foliage or a plain contrasting wall. Small art in the garden works sometimes look best elevated to eye level by a plinth, pedestal or column, and this style also suits smaller gardens by making the most of the space.

The Cass Sculpture Foundationis a charity and an authority on planning,producing, selling and
loaning large scale art in the garden sculpture throughout the world, maintaining a 26-acrepark of monumental pieces in Sussex. Founder Wilfred Cass, the ‘God father of British sculpture’, knows well the practicalities of moving and placing sculpture. ‘The art in the garden piece must be appropriate for the space for which it is intended,’ he says. ‘Will it hold its own and work within its designated space or will art in the garden be ‘consumed’ by its environs?’

Art in the garden size, obviously, matters too. You should put in a larger sculpture than you think the area needs, but ‘on a practical level, the piece must be transportable and, therefore, its weight and dimensions are very important. It is also vital to consider access to the final ‘home’ of the
sculpture. Can a lorry or a crane access the site and are there any special installation requirements
that may require professional assistance? Importantly, monumental art in the garden works may also be so large that they require planning permission.’

ONE OF A KIND ART

If you haven’t found a art in the garden piece to inspire you, if the work you wish for is highly personalized, such as a portrait of a family member or pet, or if you want a one-off work from an admired artist to your specifications, commissioning is a fine idea and a good way to support
local craftsmen or young talent. Having given out £8 million over the past 15 years commissioning ground breaking works from British sculptors, Wilfred Cass also has advice for those who plan to go this route, recommending that the patron consider the deadline completion date and the budget for the art in the garden piece, as contingencies must always be made for extra time and the hidden costs of transportation, installation and insurance.

THE BIG PICTURE

Whatever you eventually pick to sit in your space- whether large or small, big bucks or budget,
marble or metal, personal or public - enjoy your art in the garden choice and think of it as simply one part of your own creation. Sculptor Isamu Noguchi made a courtyard at Yale University that he says can be regarded as either a sculpture or a sculpture garden, as he hardly distinguishes between the two - ‘I like to think of gardens as the sculpturing of space.’So the next time you kneel down to weed a border, consider that it is the garden itself,rather than the sculpture, that is the real work of art.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY

Want to splurge on a sculpture you love, but are unsure whether to make the leap? It is worth asking if the artist or vendor would consider a loan, as is offered by the Cass Sculpture
Foundation’s Lending Programme. ‘It gives people the freedom and flexibility from commissioning or buying works outright,’explains Wilfred Cass, ‘and allows patrons to live with a piece for a certain amount of time, so they can more thoroughly discern what they want. It is a very affordable option, as pieces are lent at a small percentage of their overall selling cost.’



SAILING STONES/ANDREW LAWRENSON SPIRIT OF LIFE/CASS
SCULPTURE FOUNDATION TEENAGER/EDDIE POWELL


MISS/EDDIE POWELL WAVE/DENNIS KILGALLON OWL/DENNIS FAIRWEATHER
TEMPLE LION/MATTHEW PATON SPEARHEAD/IOTA PYRAMID, SPHERE, CUBE/RACHEL BEBB