An exhibition of contemporary art by the highly regarded sculptor Andrew Logan will open in July at the National Trust’s Buckland Abbey in Devon. The Art of Reflection, Andrew Logan at Buckland Abbey interprets the history and spirit of the abbey in 18 Logan sculptures, placed in 13 selected locations throughout the house and gardens, including in the Great Barn, Kitchen Garden and the historic Cart Pond. The exhibition, one of the largest ever staged by the National Trust in collaboration with one artist, is curated jointly by Buckland Abbey and Andrew Logan, with work selected from five decades of the artist’s career.
“We hope our visitors will be surprised, inspired, and perhaps even challenged, by discovering Andrew’s beautiful sculptures in the tranquil and unique setting of Buckland.”
The Art of Reflection has been organised under the conservation charity’s Trust New Art contemporary art programme. A major attraction will be Andrew Logan’s new jewel and painted glass portrait of Sir Francis Drake, Buckland’s most celebrated owner. Reflecting themes ranging from exploration and discovery to peace and tranquillity, and nature and the universe, The Art of Reflection includes Goldfield, one of Logan’s earliest public commissions from 1976. The giant installation will fill Buckland’s Great Barn with 4.5-metre high wheat stalks, field mice and floating butterflies.
Other exhibition highlights include World of Smiles, a hanging globe in Drake’s Chamber, echoing his circumnavigation of the world, and Life and Oomph, Logan’s life-size sculpture featuring Royal Ballet principal ballerina Lynn Seymour, reaching out from a sea of pearls. Never previously exhibited, Life and Oomph will be installed in the former Long Gallery, space historically used at Buckland for recreation and dancing.
Buckland’s gardens will be home to Logan’s Four Flowers of the Apocalypse, a floral tribute to the abbey’s spectacular natural setting, and Excalibur, a 3-metre glass sword rising out of the abbey’s Cart Pond.
The Alternative Miss World event which Logan conceived and has run for over 40 years will be represented by the ornamental Elements and Universe thrones on which the competition’s winners have been crowned. During the exhibition, Buckland’s visitors will be able to try out the thrones for themselves in the Great Hall which has welcomed many famous noblemen and dignitaries during its colourful history.
Buckland’s volunteers will be given specially created pieces of ‘apple’ jewellery to wear in celebration of the abbey’s 700-year-old history of apple-growing and cider-making. Other pieces from Logan’s Heritage Jewellery collection will be displayed alongside historic artefacts in the abbey’s collection.
James Breslin, Buckland Abbey’s House & Visitor Experience Manager said: “We’re thrilled to be working with an artist of Andrew’s calibre and to bring his work to Buckland. We have designed the exhibition with Andrew to weave its way through our existing collection and historic spaces, offering new and exciting ways to reflect on Buckland’s past through contemporary art.
“We hope our visitors will be surprised, inspired, and perhaps even challenged, by discovering Andrew’s beautiful sculptures in the tranquil and unique setting of Buckland.”
Andrew Logan said: “It is a joy working with Buckland Abbey for this exhibition and drawing inspiration from its great beauty, peace and tranquillity, resting in the Devon hills. It is exciting to mix new and old work, to see Goldfield going on show again after 41 years while creating a portrait of Francis Drake especially for Buckland as an homage to him. I really hope the exhibition is going to enthral visitors and be like Alice in Wonderland…full of surprises.”
Grace Davies, National Trust Contemporary Art Programme Manager said: “For over five years visitors have been coming to experience Trust New Art, our rich and diverse programme of contemporary arts at properties across the country inspired by National Trust places. Continuing the spirit of Trust New Art, this vibrant exhibition by Andrew Logan shines a new light on Buckland Abbey, giving visitors the opportunity to experience contemporary creativity that is rooted in our unique heritage.”
The sculptor and artist Andrew Logan was born in Witney and educated as an architect at the Oxford School of Architecture. A true English eccentric, he is refreshingly unpretentious and a true visionary in the way he mixes media and plays with artistic values. His work is held in major public collections throughout the world, including Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Academy of Arts, National Portrait Gallery, Arts Council England (London), Metropolitan Museum (New York), American Visionary Art Museum (Baltimore), Yale Centre for British Art (Connecticut), MOMA (Moscow), Australian Gallery of National Art (Sydney) and the Jaya He – GVK New Museum (Mumbai).
In 1991, the first retrospective of Andrew Logan’s art held at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford was followed by a series of international commissions, including The Cosmic Egg for the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, The Millennium Pegasus for Dudley Council, Wing for Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charitable Foundation, Bride of the Elements for Swarovski Crystals, Cosmos Within for the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai and Guardian Angels of India for the Jaya He GVK New Museum (Mumbai).
The Andrew Logan Museum of Sculpture in Berriew, Wales, contains works from every decade of the artist’s life and is the only museum in Europe dedicated to a living person.
In the Alternative Miss World a surreal art event, Logan established what has become an institution. Originating in 1972, the pageant flourished at Butler’s Wharf, then an influential artist community. It was last held at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2014 and continues to be an unparalleled, joyous and inclusive event.
Andrew Logan The Art of Reflection 1 July 2017 – February 2018
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