Driving along the sweeping private road to The Grove, I noticed a lifesize sculpture of a horse standing on the hill, I was later to learn it was made out of galvanised steel by Rupert Till. Then as I walked across the grounds to the five star hotel, I passed a curvaceous bronze resin of a geisha girl by Dorothy Brook. Further along there was a huge red painted0 steel structure of three sails that looked as if they were blowing in the wind but stood precariously on a pin-point by Spanish artist Teo San Jose.
The Grove has opened its 300-acres to a sculpture exhibition on a grand scale. Instead of these artworks being exhibited in a gallery with white walls, they are being shown off among the large cedar trees, the small bushes, along the water, by the restaurant, in the walled garden and out on the expansive landscape.
Twenty-nine artists are showing their work and 81 sculptures are on show. The art works vary in style from the figurative and the representative to the abstract; and in all kinds of media – from granite and marble to glass and steel.
Curator Virginia Grub says: “I wanted to bring the exhibition outside onto this fantastic canvas to show off some great young talented British artists alongside international artists and the more established members of the Royal Academy and the Royal British Society of Sculptors.“ There are three different walks to go on to explore the sculptures – the walled garden, canal to the stables and the formal gardens. On each of the walks, established artists’ work sit next to creations by the young and up-an-coming.
One of the leading sculptors showing her work at The Grove is Watford-born Ann Christopher. Her piece Beyond Silence, an upright sculpture cast in bronze but has the appearance of stone, is positioned in a quiet area near the restaurant.
“I wanted to produce something that was calm but had presence,“ explains the artist who went to Watford Grammar School for Girls and Harrow Art School before she left Watford in 1966 to study at the West England College of Art. “A lot of my inspiration comes from rock formations and standing stones like Stonehenge.“ Over the years, Ann has achieved many accolades but her proudest moment came when she was elected to the Royal Academy in 1980. “I was very excited and very proud.“ Another artist who is inspired by stone is Simon Hitchens. He focuses on opposing materials by using black granite boulders with mirrors. “I find the contrast of the polished and smooth surface and rough texture very satisfying,” he says.
One of the leading sculptors showing her work is Dorothy Brook, from Hampstead, who has been a sculptor for 20 years. She has two pieces in resin on show in the walled garden – Equilibrium, which is of a dancer standing on her hand, and a curvatious bronze called Geisha Girl .
“I’m inspired by dance and movement,” says Dorothy, who was a graphic designer before she became a sculptor. “For Equilibrium I was inspired by an advert at the back of a Saddler Wells’ programme. I see these beautiful lines. I like to exaggerate the lines against the background.”
The exhibition is giving young artists the chance to shine, Lucy Unwins, who recently graduated from Winchester School of Art, is showing her lifesize sculptures of women made out of tiny pieces of steel bars which have been welded together.
“It’s to get people to think about anatomy,“ says the 26-year-old.
To promote the young artists, The Grove has its very own fourth plinth. Each month a different young artist will show a piece of sculpture and 20 per cent of the proceeds will go to the Honeypot charity, which provides respite breaks to help children who are carers for most of their childhood.
Virginia, who took 18 months to set up the exhibition, says: “This exhibition is a collaboration between art and leisure, the emerging sculptors and the established artists, between the British and the international.“ She adds: “Art should be accessible to everybody and not just the elite, and it should be enjoyed by all. That’s why it is wonderful to have the exhibition in the hotel because you get all walks of life coming here.“
Sculpture at the Grove, The Grove, Chandler’s Cross, until August 31. Details: 01923 807807. Free entry.
For further information on the artists go to:
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