Monumental wooden art at Kew Gardens

One of Britain’s most prolific creators of ecological art is to produce and exhibit his work for a year at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew.

From April 2012 David Nash will work at Kew on a ‘wood quarry’. He will create new pieces using trees from the Gardens that have come to the end of their natural life. The work will be on display to the public from June. There will be sculptures, installations, drawings and film on show throughout the Gardens, glasshouses and exhibition spaces. The exhibition will include 12 existing outdoor works by Nash and will be supplemented with new works created on-site during the year.

David Nash was born in 1945 and studied at Kingston College of Art, Brighton College of Art and Chelsea School of Art. When he was 21 he established a base in Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales, and he lives and works at Capel Rhiw, a former chapel built in 1863. His large wood sculptures are sometimes carved or partially burned to produce blackening. His work is held in private collections and public galleries all over the world including the Guggenheim, the Tate and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Steve Hopper, Director and Chief Scientist of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, says: ‘An exhibition of this kind really helps to convey a simple but vital concept – that we are part of the web of life and nature responds to how we care for it. David Nash at Kew illustrates that nature can act as a great source of inspiration for artists and scientists alike, and brings these two exploratory disciplines together.’

Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction. Kew has 132 hectares (326 acres) of landscaped gardens and was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Kew celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2009. RBG Kew and its partners have collected and conserved seed from 10% of the world’s wild flowering plant species (around 30,000 species). The aim is to conserve 25% by 2020.

The Gardens are in south-west London (nearest underground station Kew Gardens and regular train services from London Waterloo to Kew Bridge), and are open daily from 9.30am, admission (until March 2012) £13.90 adults, £11.90 concessions, free for under-17s with an adult. Prices from April to be confirmed. If you’re going to be in London, browse cheap holidays here.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB
Tel: +44 20 8332 5655
Website: www.kew.org
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