Architect Stephen Marshall was commissioned to design a modern extension of the original residence, built in 1804. The new two-storey Künstlerhaus will be used as an exhibition space “on a national scale”. Courtesy of: Galerie Magazine, Photo: Mark Luscombe-Whyte “Union Horse with Two Discs” by Christopher Le Brun, 2001. From an edition of 3 pieces, the piece is in bronze. The dimensions are: 232 cm. x 466 cm. x 156 cm. Courtesy of: Museeum The Cube Gallery with an installation by Edmund de Waal in the dining room. Courtesy of: My Modern House When Bessborough and her husband took over the estate, farmers were encouraged to diversify. Perhaps not what they were referring to, the diversification that came to mind for this curious couple was to use the large farming tools they owned to bring life-size sculptures to pasture.
Bessborough believes that sculptures must move so as not to lose their “quality of life”. She said (courtesy of Gallery Magazine): “So everything is for sale and the pieces also have a new life when they are moved to the park.” Works by Toby Ziegler hang on the walls of the “exhibition corridor” leading to the Orangerie. Courtesy of: My Modern House Madeline Bessborough, accompanied by her dog Theo. On the table is a bronze of Ellis O`Connell and Matthew Hilton chairs. The urns behind Bessborough are made by Jenifer Jones. Courtesy of: Galerie Magazine, Photo by: Mark Luscombe-Whyte “The gallery was founded in London in 1958 by Madeleine Bessborough to support young contemporary artists. In the early 1990s it moved to Roche Court and became one of the first sculpture parks of its kind in the UK. Stephen Feeke is the other director here and plans the program in the main gallery, the Künstlerhaus and the sculpture park as a whole. William Grant MA MEd graduated from University College Falmouth in 2008 after studying for a BA (Hons) in Illustration.
Over the next three years, he worked briefly at various British publishers, including Cannongate Books, Random House and National Portrait Gallery Publications, while completing a master`s degree in publishing at University College London. In 2011 he trained in education at Queens` College, Cambridge and began teaching at a grammar school in South London the following year. During his tenure, he conducted further postgraduate research, oversaw international relations with Richmond College in Sri Lanka, assumed the responsibilities of Senior Housemaster and Chef of the Year, coached basketball, and taught art and design qualifications for four years. Then came the war. I grew up in Cornwall and then my family moved to near London. When I was twenty, I had the idea to create a gallery for young artists. I found a partner named Caryl Whineray and we put the gallery together. The term commonly coined for Bessborough is “The Great Lady of English Sculpture”. At 82, she still goes to the gallery every day, and the park is the culmination of sixty years of Bessborough`s work. The placement of works of art in domestic spaces allows Bessborough to show that it is made to be lived. Instead of seeing a work in a bare gallery space with white walls, it could be found next to a bathtub or in the cave.
So far, Bessborough says, “It`s about learning to live with art. My philosophy has always been that art should be part of domestic life rather than being locked in a gallery. I think art gives you a sensitivity and an idea of what the real things in life are that matter. I think it gives you the opportunity to be more sympathetic to others. I don`t think you`re a selfish person when you collect art; I think you communicate better. But what cares a lot, or what makes me very sad, is the dismantling, say, of a large American collection or someone who started and built a collection. They can be very rich or not very rich at all, but I think it`s extremely important that these collections are not just turned into money or a museum. I think it`s very important for people to understand why people bought things, so you can understand the generation that came before you. The latter is embellished with a site-specific work by Laura Ellen Bacon from 2012, who designed two large-scale wicker pieces of furniture that emerge from the building like tentacles or organic probes, giving the architecture a playful and surreal counterpoint. “Kettle`s Yard in Cambridge was a conscious point of inspiration for Artists House, with the idea of showing how to live with art at home,” says Bessborough. “You still have that feeling, but now it`s used exclusively as a gallery.” Among the works on display is an ongoing exhibition of ceramics by Edmund de Waal. “The buildings have evolved from the vocabulary of existing architecture and function functionally and aesthetically.
The glazed surfaces fill the rooms with light and the oak is soft and warm. The buildings have a connection to the landscape, allowing the works to breathe and converse with the natural environment and changing seasons. Because everything is available online, and you can just scroll through Instagram and see what they have. But at the same time, I think people are trying to reconnect with nature and the beauty of nature. And from this point of view, the role of sculpture parks is becoming more and more important. This is very interesting when you know that Ernst Beyeler founded the Basel Art Fair in 1970. In Switzerland, he thought he could bring the whole of Europe together.