1988 – 2002
Photo by Bill Grant
The original Gallery in the Forest was opened by Grizedale Society in 1988. The building was once an old saw mill building, but once the gallery opened it housed “an ongoing didactic exhibition of working drawings, sculpture, maquettes, and photographs relating to sculpture in the forest, which gives the public an insight into the sculptors working process.” – Meg Falconer Craftswoman 1996.
It was “A deliberately non threatening, low key exhibition space, converted from a former saw mill. Working drawings, models (or maquettes) for sculptures, photographs of the more ephemeral, fragile works are displayed.” – Vicky Slowe Painter in Residence 1996
It included further artwork by sculptors who had contributed to the sculpture trail. Andy Goldsworthy & Sally Matthew’s work can be seen in the photo above.
“This didactic Gallery offers the ideal starting point before looking at Sculpture in the Open Air. Learn how the sculptors choose their site, make their models and design their work – their response to the forest and the questions it poses for their sculptural practice.” – 1990 Sculpture guide
Unfortunately I can only find the photograph above of the interior. I don’t remember the Gallery at all and I doubt many (if any) people photographed it inside. So the above descriptions are the only way I have of knowing what else was inside.
Gallery Sculptures
Andy Frost – Vulture Culture – 1988
Photograph Taken by Eric Whitehead
Material:Wood
Form: Figurative – Vulture
Size: (Possibly over 6ft)
Status: Unknown
This sculpture continues Frost’s theme of The Wild West, which he brought to Grizedale with his larger sculptures made in 1984. He must have returned in ’88 to produce this piece. A vulture on a cactus. The photo above was taken on the opening of the Gallery dated October 5th 1989.
Artist’s other work in Grizedale –
Shootin Moose – 1985
Chieftain on a hot spot – 1985
Last Stand at Bogle Crag – 1985
Adventure Playground 1 – 1987
Stag Herd Roof – 1993
Adventure Playground 2 – 2004
There also appears to be a stone carving of a leaf in the background. I do not know by which artist.
Andy Goldsworthy – Slate Cone – 1988
Material: Stone
Form: Abstract
Size: 5 foot 9 inches high
Status: Removed, no remains
This was “Goldsworthy’s first commissioned cairn built with a “cone” profile” – Tina Fiske, Andy Golsdworthy Project. Seen standing in the corner of the gallery in the top photograph.
Goldsworthy’s cone remained a fixture even after Grizedale Arts closed this gallery and turned it into an office. “His ‘cone’ sculpture sat intractable in the midst of the grey office… for years. The artist refused to have it moved to a new place or sold when Grizedale Arts approached him in 1999.” – Jenny Brownrigg, Grizedale Arts Book 2009. (Undoubtable due to Adam Sutherland’s disrespect of Goldsworthy’s work in Grizedale and the other sculptures in the forest around this time.) It stayed until the the Forestry Commission transformed the gallery into a mountain bike shop and demanded that it be dismantled in 2001.
Andy Goldsworthy – Fern – 1988
Material: Organic Material – Bracken
Form: Abstract
Size: Aprox’ just over 6ft
Status: Currently hanging in Grizedale Arts’ office in Coniston, slightly worn
Other work by Goldsworthy in the Gallery is described in Natural Order in 1996 by painter Vicky Slowe “Andy Goldswothy has ‘painted’ brilliant – if ephemeral – abstract compositions using torn autumnal leaves and scarlet stalks of sycamore and has taken… a trail of bracken fronds for a walk”.
Photograph Taken June 2019
The fern still exists. I recently discovered it now adorns the walls of Grizedale Arts current office in Coniston, placed the wrong way around and behind several glass cabinets. It’s ironic (and to me sad) that Grizedale Arts now house this, rather than the Forestry Commission, as they have in the past, made no bone about not liking either Goldsworthy himself or his artworks.
More recently the Fern has moved and now adorns the wall of Grizedale Arts Holiday let… It has also been for some restorative work, transported on top of a car… Presumably this was to get the highest valuation for when it took it’s most recent trip out to visit Antiques Roadshow… It didn’t make either broadcast unfortunately.
Photographs by Grizedale Arts & Tom Philipson taken from Instagram.
Artist’s other work in Grizedale –
Woven Ash Ball – 1984
Seven Spires – 1984
Sidewinder – 1985
Taking a Wall for a Walk – 1990
Sally Matthews – Boars – 1988
Material: Wood, Cement, Organic Materials
Form: Figurative – Boars
Size: Lifesize
Status: Left hand boar: Now on display in The Ruskin Museum Coniston, slightly damaged.
Right hand boar: On display either in the Grizedale Visitor Centre or Yan building, as new.
Sally created two boars that would be sited in the gallery rather than out in the forest with the rest of the herd. They can also be seen in the photograph at the top. Unlike Goldsworthy’s cone it seems they survived, not only the Grizedale Arts years but also the bike rental shop as recently one has reappeared in the newly renovated Visitor Centre Gallery area. Looking as good as new.
Photograph taken 2017
The other boar is located in the Coniston Museum just down the road, which is sited next to a Grizedale Arts shop. Supposedly Grizedale Arts gave this boar to them, how the two got split up is a mystery.
During Summer 2019 the Grizedale Gallery boar was moved to The Yan to make room for a bronze boar by Sally Matthews for an exhibition called The Hunted.
Artist’s other work in Grizedale –
Wild Boar Clearing – 1988
A Cry In The Wilderness – 1990
Wolves – 1993
The Hunted Exhibition – 2019
Wolves – 2021
Patricia Leighton – Birch Ramp – 1988
“1988 Awarded funds from Northern Arts to build ‘Birchwood Ramp’ at The Gallery in the Forest, Grizedale Forest, Cumbria, England.” – Patricia Leighton’s Website
John Atkin – The Fox Hunting Man – 1988
Photograph Courtesy of John Atkin
Material: Wood, manmade materials
Form: Abstract
Size: Aprox 6ft
Status: Unknown
As with Atkins work on the sculpture trail, ‘Hunter Killer’, this isn’t listen on any maps I own. The artwork is both figurative and abstract, sat on a table, you can make out binoculars and what appears to be a rifle at the back. It reminds me of a cross between a soldier and a tank.
The photograph above shows the work in what appears to be the nursery/ playground area of the visitor centre. This may have been where it was created, or simply just where this photo was taken. It subsequently was on display in the gallery at least for a period as it can just about be seen on the right hand side of the the image at the top. I wonder what happened to the artworks housed here when the gallery shut in the early 2000s.
Another work by Atkin mentioned in the Grizedale film A Sense of Place is ‘Domestic Appliance’ a work in clay, which may also have been made for the Gallery.
Quote by artist “For a long time I was preoccupied with the quiet undramatic anguish of lives moulded by the suffering caused by aggression in a technological culture. This, the works of Becket, Bond and many others was thrown into a melting pot that created this mesh between man and machine.”
Artist’s other work in Grizedale –
Hunter Killer – 1988
Paintings – 1988
Wood-Turning Workshop
The adjoining lean-to was in converted into a workshop for resident craftsmen at the same time the Gallery opened. “The Grizedale collection of wood-related craftwork is on permanent display; constantly growing, it reflects the work of the Craftsmen in residence.” – Meg Falconer
“An internal window (in the Gallery) allows visitors to look through into the wood-turning workshop where the fortunate can see skilled craftsmen at work… Work shown in the Gallery is always indigenous to Grizedale, with one exception of the annual exhibition of the Cumbria Craft Guild each autumn.” – Vicky Slowe
“The craftsman has twenty four hour access to the workshop throughout his stay and keeps all the work produced, except certain pieces negotiably retained for the Grizedale Collection.” – MF
Painting Studio
This was converted in 1990 to accommodate painting residencies. “An external staircase leads to the painting studio, a well lit attic space above the Gallery, which provides the base for current painter in residence. Both painters and craftsmen are encouraged to welcome visitors to their studios in an attempt to break down the barriers between the artist and the public.” – VS
“Exhibitions of work produced during craft and painting residencies are held regularly in the Gallery and… examples of the work of past residencies are displayed in the Gallery and in the entrance foyer and stairway of The Theatre in the Forest” – VS
Gallery Exhibitions
After the painting and woodwork residencies the artists often (always?) held an exhibition of their work. Below are the artists that definitely had exhibitions and the years and where possible titles of these. Resident sculptors also had exhibitions, the ones I could find are also listed here in chronological order.
- Joanna Hart 1991 and 1992
- Tiana Marie 1992 An Artist’s Harvest
- Iain Robertson and Clare Wardman 1993 Back to the sun
- Janet Ledsham, Felts / Photographs 1995.
- Peter Clayton 1995 Fell and Forest, Vase and Vessel
Panayiotis Kalorkoti – Reflections of Grizedale Exhibition – 1995
This was an exhibition featuring the many multi plate etchings and paintings Kalorkoti had done during his residencies at Grizedale. Uniquely his work featured the sculptures in the forest at the time, he often grouped multiple sculptures into one etching. Kalorkoti was commissioned to produce work in 1989, 1991, 1992 and had a residency during 1994, as such his etchings feature sculptures over a long period.
Some of the sculptures are drawn in full, others from different angles or just close ups of parts. I have therefore included the original artwork and a copy listing the names of the sculptures depicted where necessary. Click the thumbnails for larger images.
Grizedale 1 – 1989
This etching shows Ancient Forester 1 on the left, a Deer Hunter and Pyxis maquette on the table and maquettes for Silurian Cant, Private Meeting, Triangular Suspension, Signpost and Last Stand at Bogle Crag descending on the right, with Bill Grant in the centre.
Grizedale 2 – 1989
This etching features a mixture of sculptures from the time both wooden and stone and from every area of the forest.
Grizedale 4 – 1991
This work features much fewer sculptures and incorporates a lot more prehistoric imagery with men with spears and abstract animal images. There may be more sculptures than I’ve listed, for example, is top left from ‘wolves’?
Grizedale 5 – 1991
Like the work above this image, split into squares also features a lot of imagery unrelated to Grizedale, or at least it’s not immediately noticeable what some of the images are.
Grizedale 6 – 1991
Broken up into small boxes I think these might all be images of sculptures though some I cannot work out what they are.
Grizedale 7 – 1991
Here we see the introduction of a lot of faces which occur a lot in Panayiotis’ work. Some I cannot place though may be from sculptures. One intriguing image is the triangular structure with a door, which doesn’t resemble any sculpture I can think of.
Grizedale 11 – 1992
A lot of insects feature in these prints, mainly a combination of Living Wood & Water Wheel. I can’t place one of the images but I believe these are all from sculptures.
Sketch: seq. no. 172 – 1992
This is a sketch featuring hunters and animals sculptures from the forest. This later became a print containing only animals from Adventure Playground.
Grizedale 12 – 1994
This features three sculptures, all wooden.
Grizedale 13 – 1994
This seems to focus on tools and industry in the sculptures. A few shapes I can’t find as being on sculptures, top left is a metal fence post, but they may well have been I’m just not sure where.
Grizedale 15 – 1994
This is a work depicting wooden sculptures from around the forest. Each are clearly distinguishable.
Grizedale 16 – 1994
This selection of sculptures are all made exclusively of stone.
Grizedale 17 – 1994
This selection of sculptures are all made of both stone and wood.
Grizedale 18 – 1994
This selection of sculptures are all made of wood, it features multiple images of some pieces.
Grizedale 20 – 1994
This is a selection of sculptures that all feature realistic animals from the time.
More prints featuring single sculptures can be seen on their own pages listed here:
Artist’s Website: www.kalorkoti.com/gallery/?album_id=34&photo_id=628
Light on Shadow – Walter Bailey – 1995
These are two artworks done by Walter Bailey. I don’t think these were ever sited in the forest. The photos I’ve found of them were taken in the forest at Bogle Crag, where Cloak of Season stands. Never listed on any maps they may have been part of an exhibition or displayed in the Gallery.
Interestingly Light on Shadow here bares a striking similarity to Seed which Bailey sited in the forest the same year. The shape and the split are very similar.
Threshold Figure – Bogle Crag – 1997
This is a figurative form of a man carved with a chainsaw in a similar way to Bailey’s other work Cloak of Seasons. The archive states this was part of a gallery exhibition in 1998. Bailey was artist in residence in 1995. He must have returned in 1997 and created this sculpture at the same time as the one below, Coniston Figure.
Artist’s other work in Grizedale –
Cloak of Seasons – 1995
Cloak of Seasons 2 – 1995
Seed – 1995
Coniston Figure – 1997
Further Exhibitions
- Jackie Scammell 1996
- Charles Poulson 1998 Pb in the Grizedale Gallery
- Janette Kerr 1998
- Ian Walton 1999 Visible Air
- Sian Bowen 2000 Seal in the Grizedale Gallery
Closing of the Gallery
The Gallery in the Forest was closed along with the Theatre in the Forest when Grizedale Arts took over around 2001. The gallery building subsequently became an office and then a bike rental shop.
Grizedale Forest Sculpture An Unofficial Archive 