Written on the recommendation of University of Exeter curator of Fine Arts, Gina Cox- a little piece on the new arrivals to the extensive sculpture collection the University holds - really like the look of Kurt Jackson's 'Trembling Sea Mat' will have to brave the train down to lovely Falmouth soon to catch a glimpse.
2011 has seen the arrival of some beautiful art across Exeter University Campuses, each new arrival paying specific tribute to the splendour of the natural environment. On the Streatham Campus, there is the new sculpture outside the Northcott theatre - ‘Flayed Stone II’, a stone piece by Peter Randall-Page. Also there has been a striking creative bench carved from a tree felled during the clearance required for the Forum project, which can be seen from the footpath up to the Queen’s Building from the Footpath on the Prince of Wales Road. Down on the Cornwall Campus, we can now enjoy ‘The Cornish Trembling Sea Mat’ a gift from the West Country artist Kurt Jackson. These creative pieces are exciting arrivals to the University’s ever-growing art collections and provide a fresh creative burst on campus.
Peter Randall-Page’s stone is made from Finnish Glacial Granite Boulder, it is like a lump of rock fallen from the sky, or perhaps unearthed from the bottom of the ocean. Covered in ripples, it is metamorphous to the eye, challenging the gaze in a visual display of lines in motion. Randall-Page has explained this bond between a solid stone and the carvings he has printed into the surface as ‘implying a sense of potential energy and life within the inanimate -working the surface of the stone to imply physical qualities held within’. The piece is certainly full of energy and a nice addition to the grass lawn outside the Northcott. If you would like the chance to hear Peter Randall-Page speaking on his new piece, we are lucky enough to have a visit from the artist himself, he is coming to Exeter on the 30th March and will be speaking in Queen’s LT2 from 12.45 – 13.45. The talk is a rare chance to get to hear an artist in an intimate environment talking about their work, a brilliant chance to ask any questions creative to someone who knows the industry well.
The other beautiful addition to the Streatham Campus is the carved bench, created from a felled Lime Tree. Nigel Ross is a Scottish artist specialising in chainsaws and wood! He has created on campus an artistically pleasing practical seat and table for use of students up on campus. It is can be viewed by the back of Queens in the wood. The trees and bushes which were removed as part of the Forum enabling works have also provided 33 beautifully turned bowls by local wood turner Dave Regester, together will a selection of walking sticks which will be ready sometime this year. It is nice to know that amidst all the rubble, drilling and cranes, something creative and calm has emerged, and will endure once the building works have ceased to continue.
To move westwards, down to the campus in Cornwall, there is no shortage of artistic inspiration. The newest arrival to the stunning location is a piece named ‘The Cornish Trembling Sea Mat’. It has been described by the artist as ‘this sculpture represents the materials from which the economy, culture, heritage and fabric of Cornwall was made. These four massive cubes, balanced higgledy piggledy like a child's stack of bricks, show the elements of chance and change with time and history.” Although the two Exeter campuses made be one hundred miles apart, both share a steady and important connection to the creative arts, and these new additions to the family, certainly will help upkeep the tradition. Be sure to scout these recent acquisitions when up on campus, and check out the Peter Randall-Page Lecture on 30th March.
