Interested in Mexico? Don't miss my interview with Robin Bayley, who travelled half way across the world and found a village full of long-lost relatives! It's a beautiful story.
If I hadn't stumbled across a blog post about Asthall Manor, I wouldn't have known that there was a sculpture garden on my doorstep. And it was very fortunate indeed that I came across it in the last week, as yesterday was the last day of the exhibition - and the garden will then be closed until the next one, in 2014. So I have to start with thanks to Charlotte @ The Galloping Gardener for drawing this to my attention. (If you enjoy virtual tours of lush and verdant spaces as much as I do, you'll find a lot to love on Charlotte's blog.)
So yesterday, we drove across to Oxfordshire. I have to confess that, as we struggled to find a parking space in the muddy field designated the car park, I was getting a little bit worried about how many people six acres could comfortably accommodate without everyone constantly getting in everyone else's way. After all, it was the last day of the exhibition, and one of very few rain-free days in the past month. Of course it was going to be busy. But once we were past the initial queue for tickets, everyone spread out and it didn't feel anywhere near as crowded as I'd feared.
From huge and imposing installations to smaller, more playful pieces, there was a little bit of everything here, and most of it very much suited to my tastes.
The garden at Asthall Manor is classic Cotswold cottage. I loved the juxtaposition of soft-edged foliage with the hard edges of the stone sculptures: the garden was improved by the exhibition, and the pieces certainly worked well in the context of the landscape. Whoever set it up had thought long and hard about lines of sight, with a surprise around every corner. If I had a few thousand pounds spare to spend on art, I'd certainly consider splashing out on a piece or two for my own garden.
It was great to see people getting up close and personal with the art...
...as well as photographers risking a close encounter with the wet grass, all for the perfect shot:
If you want to see more, check out the rest of my photos on Flickr - and let me know in the comments which piece is your favourite.
10 comments:
Well it looks like mudding it, paid off Rachel. What a neat place to peek around.
I like the flower one; simple yet elegant.
Love Love Love these sculptures!
Glad you caught this exposition before it was too late...Looks amazing.
Velva
How cool!
It can be highly entertaining to see what photographers will do for the perfect shot, can't it!
How beautiful!! That place is just my style. Thanks for sharing!
Of the ones here, I love the Japanese bust. Heading to Flickr....
Gorgeous photographs, Rachel. I feel your photography has really improved immensely since I started following your blog. You capture details in your subjects so perfectly!
This is stunning. I'm so happy to hear you had the chance to see it!
what a stunning day out you had, weren't you lucky to read about it in time? :) x
Gorgeous! Next time you come back to New York, you'll have to take a drive up to Storm King Art Center: http://www.stormking.org/
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