A Month in the Country: sculptures in the garden at Rosby Estate in Mudgee, NSW, help celebrate 10 years of artistic excellence

Set in the rolling hills of the Mudgee, NSW, the annual Sculptures in the Garden exhibition at Rosby Estate offers inspiration both artistic and vinous.

TEN YEARS AGO, artist and curator Kay Norton-knight decided to hold a sculpture exhibition at the Mudgee vineyard she owns with her husband, Gerald. Sculptures in the Garden was an instant success, with the garden at Rosby Wines’ cellar door displaying 130 artworks and hosting more than 1000 visitors in its first year. A decade on, the event has doubled in size, attracting luminaries of the art world including the late Edmund Capon, the director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales for 33 years.

Artworks have ranged from handpainted ceramic tiles by Kathie Najar to the vast steel and fibreglass faces of Sonia Payes’s Three Women. With a healthy prize pool of more than $40,000, the exhibition isn’t short of artists eager to display their work, which is all for sale. The event itself is not for profit, however, with proceeds going to Guide Dogs NSW/ACT and to Mudgee’s Sculpture Walk.

This year, artist and journalist Sam Paine is leading daily sculpture walks; there are sculpture demonstrations each day; and there’s plenty to keep the children happy, including guide dog demonstrations.

Kay’s dream of encouraging a flourishing local art scene has become a reality. As Edmund Capon said when he attended in 2016: “Sculptures in the Garden has made such a contribution to our appreciation of the art of sculpture. It is no longer the poor cousin in the story of Australian art, but a lively, thriving centrepiece.”

The art isn’t the only attraction. Locally sourced and cooked food is served at the event, accompanied by Gerald’s wines, which have scored a four-star rating from James Halliday. And if you overindulge in those excellent wines, you can stay the night at Rosby’s guesthouse. Sculptures in the Garden runs from October 10-25 at Rosby Wines, 122 Strikes Lane, Eurunderee, Mudgee, NSW. Tickets cost $5 per person (children are free). Proceeds go to Guide Dogs NSW/ACT. For more, call 0419 429 918 or visit sculpturesinthegarden.com.au

“Ten years after launching Sculptures in the Garden, Kay’s dream of encouraging a flourishing local art scene has become a reality.”

A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY In the sculpture garden at Rosby Estate, Stargate by Myles Naylor, fabricated from steel, catches the last rays of sunlight.

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Artworks at last year’s Sculptures in the Garden included Steel Waratah by Megan Waud, from Wollongong, NSW, who worked with stainless and mild steel; Sydney sculptor Scott Ingram’s Supernature, in Chillagoe marble and stainless steel; the Corten steel Three Sheets at 3pm on Sunday by Alex Scheibner, from Rylstone, NSW; Swan Song in eucalyptus drop wood by Chris Anderson, from Kilmore, Victoria; Alchemy, in steel, by Jenny Shea from Orange, NSW; the stringybark Many Many III, by Stephen King from Walcha, NSW; Narcissus Reflecting – Study 3 by Tasmanian artist Hugh Mclachlan, in stainless steel; and Wings and Fins in ceramic, perspex and wood, by Five Strings Collaborative, from Lisarow in NSW. FACING PAGE Pondering, a bronze and sandstone work by Rhonda Castle from Wyong, NSW.