David Nash at Kew - sculptures in the Temperate House
Find out more about the sculptures on display in Kew's historic Temperate House, as part of the David Nash at Kew: A Natural Gallery exhibition.
Mizunara Bowl
Many of Nash's sculptures explore our dependence on nature – and specifically wood – for basic survival tools and utensils. Mizunara Bowl is one such work. It was made from the trunk of a mizunara or Japanese oak in northern Japan. The oak's lighter sapwood forms a natural edge to the bowl.
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Napa Ladders
Napa Ladders was made in California, from an evergreen species of oak.
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Overlap
The interweaving pattern of Overlap was inspired by Celtic designs in the collection of the National Museum of Wales.
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Plateau
This new sculpture repeats, in miniature, the three universal forms of Cube, Sphere, Pyramid, which is exhibited amongst the Temperate House's tree ferns. Nash also uses these forms in his gallery work.
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Red and Black Dome
Nash always considers how sculpture occupies or shares space. His dome works are a reflection of this thinking, using small forms to create a larger sculpture, each echoing the whole. Black and red are repeated within his work; the black base is dark and dense while the red peak is an active colour.
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Red Frame
In this geometric form Nash has used both the rust-coloured heartwood and blonde sapwood of a redwood.
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Red Throne
Red Throne is cast in bronze meaning it can withstand this damp area, suited to the plants but not to wood sculptures. Nash knew the work here needed to be tall, unlike the nearby Cube, Sphere, Pyramid.
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Throne
Throne was originally made for the Mappin Art Gallery in Sheffield, where it was displayed in the gallery’s high-ceilinged apse. This gave Nash the opportunity to exploit a vertical space, which he has also been able to do here in the Temperate House.
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Two Falling Spoons
Nash first sculpted spoons in 1998, inspired by the refectory at Tournus Abbey in France, where he was staging an exhibition. He has continued to explore this form since, especially when the truck and branches of a tree suggest this shape. This bronze was cast from an original made of charred oak.
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