David Nash’s Black Sphere at Dartington Hall Gardens

damp and dry
burnt and buried
wood is given
we do not make it
in air it cracks
in fire it burns
in water floats
in earth returns

These words by David Nash contain the essence of his work as a sculptor: creating pieces, always in wood, shaping living trees or carving ones that have died naturally or been felled for other purposes. His large wood sculptures are sometimes partially burned to produce blackening. His main tools are chainsaw, axe and blowtorch. Some works are planned as ‘growing’ works to change organically over time – others as ‘disappearing’ works that will erode and decay.

The historic landscape of Dartington Hall is a fitting backdrop for this internationally acclaimed artist who has developed an eloquent understanding of trees, working with their traits to create sculpture, installation projects and related drawings.

Nash moved to Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales in the late sixties, purchasing a chapel which has remained since then both his studio and home. He not only carves wood, largely from fallen trees, with chain and milling saws – skills that he has perfected over the years – but he also creates sculptures from growing plants, cutting and training them into domes or ladders.

‘Black Sphere’ constructed from oak, its charred dynamic black surface appears to be in contrast to the natural beauty of the upper valley landscape, however simultaneously Black Sphere could have always been there, evolving organically in the ancient landscape. It can be found at the top of the valley field, it will be here until the second week in August 2011.

The sculpture has come from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park where there was a major retrospective for David Nash looking at 40 years of work characterised by large geometric sculptures in natural materials.

David Nash visiting Dartington Hall on Friday 22nd April.

David will be narrating his ‘Boulder’’ film in the Barn Cinema (time to be confirmed). He will then have the opportunity to see Black Sphere in its new temporary home. This visit is in conjunction with an exhibition by CCANW at Haldon Forest Park near Exeter. Their Tree Culture programme launches on Good Friday, 22 April, with an exhibition of sculpture and drawings by David Nash which continues to 25 September. On the evening before the launch, Thursday 21 April, at 7.30pm, David give a sold out talk at the Drewe Arms, Drewsteignton, organised by Dartmoor Arts Project. Tickets to see “Boulder” will be available soon from www.dartington.org/cinema.

Black Sphere is brought to Dartington through our collaboration with the Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World who will be showing sculpture and drawings by David Nash 22 April-25 September, see www.ccanw.co.uk. The displays are made possible by grants from Arts Council England and the Henry Moore Foundation.

For more information contact Andrea Rowbotham, Special Projects Assistant, at Andrea.Rowbotham@dartington.org