Our great outdoors
As Thirsk Sculpture Park opens its door for a second season, Catherine Scott takes a look at its latest exhibitions and also the opening of a new gallery space which allows it to be open all year round. Pictures by Tony Johnson.
It is a year since Thirsk Hall first opened its sculpture park to the public. Such was its success that not only has the 20-acre sculpture park reopened with 32 new and existing installations, there is a new indoor 13 by five metre gallery space and a smaller Orangery gallery that means they can now show local, national and international artists all year round. The Park and Gallery are the brainchild of Willoughby Gerrish and his wife Daisy Bell, whose family has owned Thirsk Hall for nearly 300 years.
“We are lucky enough to live in this amazing place and we really wanted to share it with others and for it to be part of the community,” explains Gerrish, who formed Willoughby Gerrish Ltd after working in the London art world. He now divides his time between London and ‘home’ Thirsk Hall.
He met Daisy, who runs an art consultancy, also partly based in London, and used to work at the Tate and the Royal Academy, at university in Edinburgh.
“We really want to make art accessible to everyone,” says Gerrish. “We want people to come and have a picnic, bring their dog, enjoy the gardens and look at the sculptures – it’s a slow mission creep. With two young sons we are very aware of the educational side of things and making sure that more people get access to art.”
To this end a few times a year they open the park and gallery to the public for free – it only costs £6.50 (£5.50 concessions) the rest of the time and there is also an annual membership.
They are holding a Beer & Pizza Night on Saturday 9 July and have just held a number of meeting the artist events and more are planned for the future.
“We are far smaller than the Yorkshire Sculpture Park but we actually like that as it means we can be much more intimate and in many ways more accessible as a result,” says Gerrish.
As well as art there are a number of musical events, some planned for the new gallery space and others like the Thirsk Hall Classical Festival.
On Sunday July 17 De Mowbray Music presents Sunday Series with Christian Jones, regarded as one of the finest exponents of the bass trombone in the world, in Gallery One. Christian is currently bass trombonist for Opera North and previously BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Philharmonia Orchestra, London.
Thirsk Hall Sculpture Garden launched for the first time in May 2021, with an exhibition
to celebrate Gerrish’s representation of the Estate of Michael Lyons. Lyons’ sculptures were exhibited alongside works from other artists such as Emily Young, Austin Wright, Richard Hudson and Gerald Laing. His work will continue to be shown throughout the 2022 season.
“We aim to hold a new major exhibition every year,” explains Gerrish. “The 2022 season has been launched with works of Jeff Lowe both in the gallery in the formal gardens and in the sculpture park.”
Sculpture Near Distance presents work from internationally acclaimed sculptor, Lowe. The exhibition is curated by Jon Wood, formerly of the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds.
“Jeff came to prominence in the 1970s,” explains Gerrish. “He studied at Saint Martin’s School of Art between 1971-75, and was taught by many of the prominent sculptors of this time including William Tucker, Philip King and Anthony Caro.
“His work is in virtually every museum in the world and we feel very fortunate to have some of his work and also to be able to show it in a natural landscape as well as a gallery and formal gardens.”
Later this year Thirsk Hall will also play host to an exhibition of David Hockney’s work. The exhibition will focus on the medium of print. It will include important examples of early etchings from A Rake’s Progress (1961-3), Fourteen Poems for C.P. Cavafy (1966) and Grimm’s Fairytales (1969) alongside lithographs and screenprints from his Los Angeles period, and his extraordinary colour etchings from the 70s. The exhibition will consist of loans and artworks for sale.
Other artists who will feature this year include; Geoffrey Clarke, Gordon House, Richard Hudson, Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva, Jon Kipps, Gerald Laing, Michael Lyons, Paul De Monchaux, Tim Pomeroy, Rob Ward, Austin Wright, Emily Young and Zak Ové whose impressive Invisible Men can be found in the Sculpture Park.
Jon Kipps is a 29-year-old artist from London and Thirsk Hall will be his first show. “We don’t want just to have the famous and established artists and sculptures here, we want new and up and coming artists and local ones as well.”
So what do Gerrish’s small sons think about having a sculpture park in the garden? “I think last year they didn’t really understand it but then this year I our head groundsman was polishing the statues and I saw our five year old helping him so I think he thinks is it pretty cool.”
Gerrish and Bell are determined to add to the experience of locals and visitors to Thirsk.
“Thirsk is a great place. There is the World of James Herriot and so much more; we want Thirsk Hall to be part of that flourishing community.”
■ For more information visit www. thirskhall.com