6 minute read
Finding Form
Nick Nelson (C2 1984-89) takes an amble through the sculpture-filled gardens of Asthall Manor, home to Rosie Pearson (SU 1974-76).
Apair of surreal, biomorphic entrance-post finials signifies my arrival at Asthall Manor, a stunning Jacobean Cotswold manor house in Oxfordshire and home to Rosie Pearson. I have since learnt that the aforementioned sculptural adornments are in fact by Anthony Turner (TU 1972-76), whom Rosie has known since her time at Marlborough. Asthall is a house steeped in history – it was formerly occupied by the Mitford family – yet one that is now synonymous with the biennial exhibition of contemporary sculpture known as on form (‘Small o, small f,’ I’m assured). Rosie has established the perfect setting for a panoply of predominantly abstract metamorphic outdoor installations that adorn the somewhat eclectic grounds fashioned by the Bannermans of Highgrove fame during the late 1990s. Our convivial sojourn through Asthall’s gardens begins at a cloistered walkway that connects the original manor house with the Mitfords’ extension of 1919. I am drawn to the compact mud nests in the rafters above me, home to a small party of swallows, and Rosie is quick to inform me that guano is a perennial problem given the al fresco nature of the artworks! There is a distinct sense of flow from house to garden and indeed beyond, to the verdant meadows that surround the local Oxon river, the Windrush. Rosie has strived to mirror this sense of
Rosie Pearson and Anna Greenacre
flow in the array of external sculptures that meander leisurely around the acreage. Despite the biennial exhibition coming to a close in late June, I was fortunate enough in late August to view the works that were not part of the 110 sold (representing a half) during the most recent exhibit. With the expert curatorial aid of Anna Greenacre, works crafted in Carrara marble by Emma Elliott complement the often-boundless vistas framed by topiary hedgerows to form a memorable marriage of art and garden. Rosie’s encyclopaedic knowledge of all sculptures and their respective artisans, many of whom are invited to reside at Asthall during the installation process, is impressive to say the least. This is partly driven by the longevity of certain contributors’ affiliations to the grounds and the esteemed on form exhibition itself. I am inclined to forge links between the extant 100+ disparate sculptures that pepper the environs of Asthall’s estate – nature, abstraction, environmentalism spring to mind, such is Rosie’s inclination towards eco-awareness. However, in co-curating on form, Rosie’s doctrine, if she has one, is to promulgate quality, diversity and distinctiveness. She is eager to avoid the trail approach to the biennial display and indeed the more permanent collection of works itself, to which renowned sculptor Anthony Turner is arguably a key contributor. A sensitively penned map of the garden by Isabel Bannerman correlates to a numerical keycode of artists’ works, and correspondingly, a price. Having reached a zenith of 384 works exhibited in 2018, Rosie is confident that 2022 will be a bumper show and this will run from 10th June to 12th July of that year. Footfall has historically extended to some 8,000 for a given exhibit, hence Asthall offers its own Potting Shed Café,
replete with locally sourced produce drawn from Rosie’s own garden. Many of the works, which remain nestled in the grounds, resonate geo-politically with references to extinction rebellion, environmentalism and, most poignantly, our carbon footprint. Indeed, Rosie is herself acutely aware of the pressures she faces in sourcing works of international acclaim apropos their transportation – itself challenged further by the logistics of both Brexit and COVID. Tom Waugh’s stone-cast oil barrel is a case in point, as is Emma Elliott’s subversive, onomatopoeic relief panel ‘POW!’ which, whilst doffing a cap to Lichtenstein in terms of nomenclature, challenges the Anthropocene status quo. The works at Asthall represent an astonishing array of vernacular materials, from Arabescato marble to Zimbabwean springstone. As a collation, it is an essay in geology not dissimilar to the county’s own Oxford Museum of Natural History that boasts 126 columns each made from a different British decorative rock, labelled with the name of the stone and its source. No doubt the great John Ruskin, alumnus of Christchurch Oxford, would be delighted by the proliferation of handicraft on display every other year at Asthall, such was his penchant for vernacular craftsmanship in eschewing the machine age. What I am most struck by is Rosie’s labour of love approach to the now highly acclaimed on form exhibition – or the Pursuit of Love, perhaps, to coin Nancy Mitford’s eponymous novel penned at Asthall itself. With Anna Greenacre stepping down as co-curator after the 2022 exhibition, I am naturally curious as to the future of Rosie’s brainchild first conceived in 2000. Her two daughters
share their mother’s artisan abilities, yet more manifestly those in the realm of gastronomy. There is indeed scope though for this important platform for upcoming sculptors to continue to burgeon under the Pearson family dynasty and, like many others, I will endeavour to return to visit an ever-evolving outdoor arena to contemporary craftsmanship. Devoid of pretence, Rosie encourages the haptic experience as much as the visual, hence visitors are encouraged to explore each work via a more holistic tactile experience. This inevitably encourages families and indeed the young to experience on form, and I encourage many of you to do so, perhaps landing first at the adjacent Early English Gothic parish church of Saint Nicholas or alternatively by visiting the nearby Maytime Inn for a drop of local Brakspear ale. Rosie is herself ‘on form’, and I appreciated her candour at the close of our pastoral ramble, when she stated that there were no signs whatsoever at Marlborough that she would foray into co-curating en plein air sculptural shows every other year, nor indeed was the writing on the wall during an intervening decade spent living in Jamaica. However, it’s plain to see that Rosie prospers in her surroundings and this shines through in her work as on form flourishes year on year.
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