Doddington Sculpture Exhibition 2016

Garden sculpture comes in all shapes and sizes.They can be diminutive ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ pieces or vast imposing edifices. They may be abstract or figurative, and made from any number of materials. And they come at prices to suit every budget from a few quid to many thousands.

Which can all make choosing one tricky. The effort will be worth it though as sculpture undoubtedly adds another dimension to a garden, be it thought-provoking, humourous or simply colour and beauty.

Big ones need their own space and like to be the centre of attention, so are best kept one to an area. Smaller ones on the other hand can be collected over time and secreted about, to be enjoyed as they are stumbled upon.

Ultimately, the choice is very personal and seeing some ‘in the flesh’ is the best way to find out what you like.

The Doddington Sculpture Exhibition is back for a third time and is an ideal place to get your sculptural bearings. The beautiful relaxed gardens provide a perfect backdrop but be sure to allow plenty of time as there are so many to see.

I would even recommend more than one visit if you can, to avoid art fatigue, which also means you will get to see the sculpture in different light conditions, and maybe with fewer people about.

Visitors are greeted at the entrance by a huge woven willow dragon covered in strips of colourful material that flit about. It seems friendly and children are drawn inside its cavernous chest. Anyone who had this as a den would surely be the envy of their friends.

As you enter the East Garden one piece grabs your attention. ‘GodRod’ by Lucy Strachan extends a pin thin spike of what looks like red artificial grass skywards as if to pierce the heavens. It is bold and captivating, but won't be to everyone’s liking.

The croquet lawn is dominated by an impressive four-piece ensemble of mosaic sculptures (‘Fledge: Increments of Flight’ by Rebecca Newnham), shapely organic wings that curve and flex in defiance of their rigid fibreglass and glass construction.

While these look like they should spin and flutter (but don’t or at least I didn’t dare try too hard to make them move), elsewhere there are a couple of mesmerising ‘kinetic’ sculptures that do move, either in the wind or with a bit of help.

David Watkinson’s ‘Kinetic Seed Sculpture’ is just that, and hypnotically rotates and twists overhead powered by the faintest breeze (this is what wind turbines would look like if artists designed them not engineers), while ‘Ribbon’ by Richard Cresswell is a flat, wide spiral of stainless steel that wobbles and bounces gently on the ground like a metallic jelly.

Some oversized boxing hares (by Martin Duffy), are fantastically animated as they prance in an open area of grassland, but most spectacular of all the animal sculptures on show is the green fibreglass bull covered in colourful butterflies (‘Defeated Butterflies’ by Sam Shendi). It is a frivolous and fun take on the challenges of life, apparently, which also goes to remind us there is often more to sculpture than meets the eye, at least in the mind of the artist.

Many of the smaller pieces in the exhibition would be a great addition to any garden. The simple bronze wall plates with tiny birds peering through holes by Adam Binder are exquisite, while the metal stake and ball adorned with a rusty snail (by Martin Duffy) is very appealing, and much more affordable.

For pure fun there is the collection of verdigris fish and birds (by Mike Savage) bobbing amongst the foaming flowers in the West garden, a shoal of artificial turf fish (not grass carp but ‘Oblivion Spawned’ by Lucy Strachan) and the giant white 'Fork in Pollen' by mark Reed.

With almost 400 works of art on display there is much, much more to see. All in all it’s a fun and fascinating show well worth a visit. I’d be surprised if you can't find at least some inspiration for your own garden.

The exhibition runs until 11th September and here’s a selection of what’s on offer:-