Stack Philippa Lawrence Open Up Hestercombe Gallery
Exhibitions

Open-Up: Outdoor Exhibition

Open-Up is a brand new series of out­door art­works com­mis­sioned in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dates
09/09/20 – 30/06/21
Organisation
Region
Somerset
Opening Times
Sunday, 10:00 – 17:00
Mon–Tue, Closed
Wed–Sat, 10:00 – 17:00
Price
Adult £13.30 | Child £6.65 | other concessions available
Open-Up is a brand new series of outdoor artworks commissioned in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It features eight artists with intimate knowledge of Hestercombe, many of whom have responded to the landscapes on the estate in the past. The works, distributed across all three of the period gardens at Hestercombe and beyond, range from subtle interventions involving copper plant tags, pigeon rings and galvanised nails, to bold stacked colours, giant bunting and orchard ladders.

Artists featured include Richard Long, Sarah Bennett, Megan Calver with Gabrielle Hoad, Jon England, Jo Lathwood, Philippa Lawrence and Lucy Soni.

In July we launched 'Jackdaw Line' in Hestercombe’s Georgian Landscape Garden, a new stone work by internationally renowned artist Richard Long. This work has become the flagship commission of a new outdoor series, entitled ‘Open-Up’.

Originally programmed for May 2020 as part of Hestercombe’s Bampfylde300 year of celebrations, Jackdaw Line was postponed due to Covid-19. The existing indoor exhibitions, Coplestone Warre Bampfylde: A Gentleman of Taste, and Most Admirably Improved by Art, were closed when Hestercombe temporarily shut in late March 2020. This enforced closure created a reaction that reimagined the way that artworks are presented in a way that is made safe and accessible for visitors for the current social distancing environment at Hestercombe.

At a time when most UK galleries remained closed it seemed fitting to follow Jackdaw Line with further outdoor works that not only respond to the gardens, but reflect on the unprecedented times faced by a global society, with a virus at its root.