Nash outdoor sculptures file

Oculus Block (2010, eucalyptus)

Oculus Block was created from a mighty eucalyptus tree grown in California, where the trees are being cleared as they are a significant pest to local flora and fauna. This gigantic piece of wood was formed by four individual trunks fusing to become a single tree with a space – the ‘oculus’ (meaning eye in Latin) – running right up its length.

Two Sliced Cedars (2010, charred cedar)

Two Sliced Cedars is made from cedar wood, sourced in Sussex. Nash has chosen to char the sculpture to emphasise the form; the viewer’s eye is drawn into the dense black adding to the visual impression of a solid outline and dense weight.

Detail of Charred Cross Egg

See Charred Cross Egg (2008, charred oak) in the Gardens at Kew, as part of the David Nash at Kew: A Natural Gallery exhibition.

King and Queen II (2008, bronze)

See King and Queen II in the Gardens at Kew, as part of the David Nash at Kew: A Natural Gallery exhibition.

Detail of Cairn Column

See Cairn Column (2012, oak) in the Gardens at Kew, as part of the David Nash at Kew: A Natural Gallery exhibition.

Black Butt (2011, bronze)

Black Butt was cast in bronze at a fine art foundry from Nash's original wood sculpture which would not last well outside, due to the intricacy of its form. The original Black Butt was made from elm.

Detail of Flame Column

The oak used for Flame Column (2012, oak) was wide and straight, but when the bark was removed Nash discovered it had many more rot spots than anticipated. Once these spots had been carved out the contours suggested the final shape.

Cairn Column (2012, oak)

Cairn Column is made from a high-quality piece of Sussex oak, free of any decayed areas. This is unusual for a tree of more than two hundred years. The trunk had a natural lean which Nash worked with to create the animated, slightly askew form.

Charred Cross Egg (2008, charred oak)

In its earliest incarnation Charred Cross Egg was named ‘Big Bud’, developed for an exhibition in Lewes, Sussex, in 2007. While on display it was vandalised but Nash, with characteristic pragmatism, saw this as an opportunity to re-explore the sculpture and create something different. He carved out crosses that appear stamped into the sculpture’s surface and added a deep char to accentuate the cut-away form.

Iron Dome (2010, cast iron)

Iron Dome consists of many cast iron pieces of varying heights, the tallest 2.8 metres high. The sculpture was made in China by producing polythene blocks cut with hot wire, which were then cast in iron.

Detail of Black Butt

Black Butt (2011, bronze) was cast in bronze at a fine art foundry from Nash's original wood sculpture which would not last well outside, due to the intricacy of its form. The original Black Butt was made from elm.

Black Trunk (2010, charred redwood)

Black Trunk is made from redwood sourced from California, where the work was carved. For use in sculptures, redwood offers good colour and great solid mass. It has a thick bark which protects the trees from forest wildfires.

Kew King and Queen I (2011, bronze)

King and Queen I was cast in bronze at a fine art foundry from Nash's original wood sculpture, made from oak.

Torso (2011, bronze)

This bronze was cast at a fine art foundry from Nash's original wood sculpture, which would not last well outside due to the intricacy of its form. The original sculpture was made from oak.

Three Humps (2007, bronze)

Nash says of this work, ‘Often, in the general maintaining and clearing up of my carving yard pieces of wood come together by chance and suggest, even demand, to be carved as a group. Three Humps is such a piece.’