Forests, Woods and Groves E-Book

Philippa Beale

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 109

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

A stunning collection of artwork from the Arborealists, a group of highly skilled artists who feature trees, forests and woodland as their most vital subjects. The Arborealists' diverse and influential work highlights protected woodland's history and changing landscapes, as well as illuminating the enchantment of ancient trees. Each member has developed their own artistic language, showcasing manifold applications in everything from scale, medium, style and philosophical approach. Featuring the artwork of Arborealist members including Tim Craven, Jemma Appleby, Alex Faulkner, Ann Blockley, Fiona McIntyre and many more, this beautiful book is a joyful celebration of the natural world. As well as showcasing the diverse work of 36 artists, the book includes: • An introduction to the Arborealists by Philippa Beale, a founding member. • Information on some of the site-specific projects undertaken by the collective, written by the President of the Arborealists, Tim Craven. • An exploration of the woodland at Staverton Park in Suffolk, written by author and woodland ecologist George Peterken. In the last ten years, the Arborealists' many successful exhibitions have carved them a strong national profile and widespread critical acclaim. Forests, Woods and Groves is perfect for anyone with an interest in spectacular art or a passion for the natural world.

Leseprobe

Forests,Woods&Groves

Dedicated to the memory of Lesley Slight,a founding member of the Arborealists1939–2024

Contents

Foreword, by Philippa Beale and Chloe Hughes

The Arborealists: site-specific projects 2017–2024, by Tim Craven

Staverton Park, Suffolk: imagination and reality, by George Peterken

The Arborealists and their work, by Philippa Beale

The Arborealists:

Robert Amesbury Brooks

Jemma Appleby

Richard Bavin

Philippa Beale

John Blandy

Ann Blockley

Claire Cansick

Andrew Carnie

Stella Carr

Lara Cobden

Tim Craven

Annabel Cullen

Blaze Cyan

Mike Dodd

Alex Egan

Alex Faulkner

Stephanie Fawbert

Paul Finn

Tom Genders

Crispin Heesom

Julie Held

Tilia Holmes

Abi Kremer

Ursula Leach

Natasha Lien

Rosemary Mafrici

Fiona McIntyre

Władysław Mirecki

Paul Newman

Howard Phipps

Alan Rankle

Angela Rumble

Celia de Serra

Nahem Shoa

Kevin Tole

Jacqueline Wedlake Hatton

David Wiseman

Artist biographies

About the authors

Credits

Nahem Shoa, Staverton Ancient Oaks, 2023

Foreword

Philippa Beale – Artist/Curator

Chloe Hughes RCA – Curator

This book is published for the tenth anniversary of the Arborealists, a group of professional artists who feature trees as an important aspect of their practice. Since their formation by Tim Craven in 2014, they have had 38 exhibitions, establishing a strong international profile. The Arborealists have always been involved in site-specific projects, and in 2016, George Peterken OBE, forester, ecologist and author, invited the group to respond to Lady Park Wood near Monmouth, the only scientifically monitored unmanaged woodland in the UK. The film Lady Park Wood, produced by founding member Fiona McIntyre and screened throughout Europe, shows the artists collecting site-specific information. Since 2018, the Arborealists, in partnership with Katrina Munro (Sustainable Economy Officer at Exmoor National Park Authority), have worked on a project at Dartmoor and Exmoor. This project culminated in a major travelling exhibition in 2020, starting at the Somerset Museum and Art Gallery, before continuing to different venues throughout Somerset and Devon during 2021 and 2022. As part of the HM Queen Elizabeth II Green Canopy Project, the group has chronicled the ancient trees of England in association with Julian Hight, presenter and judge of the Tree of the Year for Channel 4 and Chair of the Ancient Tree Forum. This has resulted in an ongoing exhibiting partnership, ‘From Ancient Trees’, at Nature in Art Gallery in Gloucestershire. A current project is to survey Staverton Park in Suffolk, one of the oldest sites in the UK, to create another major exhibition (2025) at The Minories Gallery, Colchester, Essex. Other ongoing exhibitions include ‘The Quietness of Feeling: An Exploration of Trees Through the Art of Benjamin Haughton’ and ‘The Arborealists’ from October 2024 to September 2025 at Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery, as well as ‘Forests, Woods and Groves’ at Batsford Gallery, London from November to December 2024.

Philippa Beale, Bageworthy Ancient Woodland, Exmoor

It is the first time Chloe Hughes has worked with the Arborealists, discovering a group of highly skilled artists who feature trees, forests and woodlands as their most vital subjects. The Arborealists’ diverse and influential practices, involving over forty members, have highlighted these protected woodlands’ history and changing landscapes, as well as expressing new perspectives on how art can illuminate the enchantment of ancient trees. Each member has developed their artistic language, showcasing manifold applications in everything from scale and medium to style and philosophical approach. In the last ten years, their many successful exhibitions have carved a strong national profile for the Arborealists and garnered widespread critical acclaim. Their first publication in 2016, The Arborealists: The Art of the Tree, sold out within the year; their second in 2017, The Arborealists, The Art of Trees, was published in both English and French. Chloe has found great pleasure working with such an extraordinary and contrastive group of artists, and looks forward to continuing supporting their endeavours in the future.

The Arborealists:site-specific projects 2017–2024

Tim Craven, President of the Arborealists

A chance glance in Lymington High Street serendipitously kickstarted the Arborealists’ first site-specific project that would reap rewards and open doors. In the summer of 2016, George Peterken OBE, celebrated expert and author on trees and natural woodland, was on holiday in the New Forest, where he had spent much of his youth. That day, he was cycling through Lymington when he was stopped by a traffic light. Glancing around, he spotted a tiny advert tied with string round the pole of a Belisha Beacon. It announced that the St Barbe Museum & Art Gallery was staging an exhibition on ‘The Art of the Tree’ by the Arborealists, a group he knew about because he had bought a copy of Under the Greenwood the year before, when visiting Chichester Art Gallery with his wife, Susan. Trees being his subject, he instantly knew he should check it out. If the lights had been green, he would not have stopped. If he had stopped at any other position, he would not have been by the post and seen the advert. Of such moments are collaborations made.

Impressed with the show, he hit upon the idea of inviting the group to Lady Park Wood to engage in an art project. George enjoyed reproductions of historic woodland paintings, often using them to front his book jackets, though he found it challenging to find any without a trace of human activity; he was aware of the importance of art as his wife was an artist. Owned by Forestry England, Lady Park Wood is on the banks of the River Wye, near Monmouth, and is the only scientifically monitored, unmanaged wood in the country. Parts of it have remained untouched for over 150 years and George, living nearby, knew it intimately. Indeed, he knew the stories and behaviour of many of the individual trees over decades. They are measured and documented every ten years; students and interested parties are taken there and told that ‘this is what happens when you leave nature to its own devices’. Without hesitation, we were there like a shot, and we met George in the woods to discuss possibilities. We were immediately on board to engage in an exciting project – with an opportunity to learn much from a distinguished ecologist. A group of 18 Arborealists duly met the following spring for a first focus weekend, and after a fascinating briefing tour from George, members went off in search of suitable motifs for their art. Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) staff had been alerted to our gathering and generously arrived with cake at lunchtime to introduce themselves, and to see what was going on. Their Spring Festival the following year was serendipitously to be themed ‘On Woodland’, so some form of connection was evident to all. An autumn weekend for a different season, colours and atmosphere was subsequently planned, and the pub-supper get-togethers arranged for the evenings would become a feature of all future site projects. Fellowship and mutual support are a major part of the group’s ethos.

Ann Blockley, Wind-Blown Hawthorn

I now needed a venue for an exhibition of all the works generated. The obvious choice was the Nelson Museum, Monmouth, the central county venue. I eventually contacted Curator Annie Rainsbury and paid a visit to pitch the idea of showcasing the fascinating story of this unique woodland through an exhibition of our artworks. The main exhibition space was already programmed for the AONB 2018 Spring Festival; additionally, Annie generously gave us the mezzanine floor above for a pop-up show the following year, promising an extended exhibition. Arborealist Fiona McIntyre had the great idea of commissioning a short film to document the project and secured the services of celebrated eco filmmakers Kashfi Halford and Manuel Valcarce, who joined the group for the autumn weekend. The film, sponsored by Forestry England, as well as various organisations and numerous artists, was premiered to acclaim at the festival in Monmouth’s Shire Hall. Wye Valley AONB duly won an award for the varied and rich content of their superb festival.

George announced that he would like to write about what the works of art had revealed to him as a scientist. Connecting art and science is not new, but this was a fascinating and innovative angle, and we were subsequently successful in securing a grant for a publication entitled Art Meets Ecology from the AONB, published in 2021 by Sansom & Company. A second grant funded a reprint when the first batch of 500 sold out. George grouped the subjects for his observations using titles such as: Looking Down, Edges, Slopes, Woodland Space and Lost in the Woods. Art Historian Dr Christiana Payne of Oxford Brookes University contributed a superb end-piece essay entitled ‘Roots in the Past’. A requirement of the grant was to organise a related educational outreach event in the region, which we successfully achieved with Hereford College of Art. This pilot project was a triumph on several levels and a valuable learning curve for the group. The collaboration with George has proved particularly fruitful and is ongoing. The notion of working with partner organisations to enhance projects and their impact was immediately embedded into the Arborealists’ modus operandi. We have since worked to mutual advantage with National Park Authorities (NPA), other AONBs, the Woodland Trust, the National Trust and others. Local knowledge and expertise, increased marketing and audience enhancement have been hugely beneficial for the success of multiple exhibition projects and have added attractive leverage to secure first-class gallery venues. Each project is promoted with a detailed written proposal and backed up with track record. Early on, some of us shared the delights of the unique and historic Wistman’s Wood on Dartmoor, and I had the idea of an exhibition project on the subject. Then, through Fiona, we were given a direct link to the outgoing Chief Executive of Exmoor National Park Authority, an opportunity not to be missed.

The Arborealists with George Peterken, surveying Lady Park Wood

Therefore, the project was instantly expanded to trees and woodland on Exmoor and Dartmoor (including Wistman’s Wood) in partnership with both National Park Authorities (would they collaborate or were they rivals? An interesting conundrum). Successful meetings with NPA staff at both HQs, in Dulverton and Bovey Tracy, initiated the two-year project for a spring 2018 start. Experts at the NPAs would each identify six trees and woodland sites of diverse and special ecological, social, economic and historic significance on their respective moors, at which the participating Arborealists (and a few local guest artists) would make work according to choice. The exhibition, benefitting all parties, would promote the excellent work and objectives of the NPAs. Considerable research, exploration and selection made this a rewarding project for participants, and we all learnt much about both moors and their varied environments, which was one of the project‘s aims.

I thought the ideal Gallery for the resulting exhibition would be in Taunton – the big city between the two moors. The impressive Somerset Museum was the obvious favourite. With perseverance and thanks to Arborealist Paul Newman (local connections again), we secured a slot for autumn 2021, the only physical exhibition we staged in the pandemic years. With a designer on the team, the show was beautifully presented, and the works were hung in the twelve site groups alongside interpretive texts supplied by the NPAs. Smaller, subsidiary shows were later staged on Exmoor at Lanacre Barn and on Dartmoor at Artmill Gallery, Plymouth.

Having enjoyed the Lady Park Wood art, George suggested another site project at Staverton Park near Woodbridge in Suffolk, with which he could assist us. He had worked at the privately owned site early in his career and could introduce us to the family. It is one of the oldest oak woodlands in Europe, an almost unique environment, with a rich and fascinating history. After the Second World War, the government had offered a grant to have it levelled for new crops, but the family rightly and indignantly refused, fully aware of its significance. The innumerably pollarded trees are quite extraordinary specimens and the park, though not large and now employed as cattle pasture, is ecologically somewhat different from the adjacent Staverton Thicks, having experienced a different history of use.

I pitched the idea along with our track record to the owner, Kate, and won permission to proceed. The autumn focus weekend in 2023 for 16 artists kicked off with a fascinating 4-hour briefing tour with George and Gary Battell, Suffolk county’s Tree Officer, who also brought along his arborist. Their combined knowledge, love and enthusiasm for the park and even individual trees was truly revelatory and was the perfect inspirational introduction to make art. Our promotional and expertise partner is Suffolk & Essex Coasts & Heaths National Landscape (AONB rebranded), and exhibitions are planned for The Minories, Colchester and Gallery East in Woodbridge.