COTSWOLD What’s On Review
A breath of fresh air
Lucy Abel Smith hosts the biennial FRESH AIR exhibition with her husband David at their home in Quenington.
THE long-awaited 11th biennial FRESH AIR 2013 exhibition, set up by art collectors Lucy and David Abel Smith, took place at Quenington Old Rectory, Cirencester in June and July this year.
Using the natural backdrop of
mature trees, lawns and flowers in the 5-acre garden with the River Coln meandering alongside, the purpose of the exhibition say the organisers is ‘to wash the dust from the soul of everyday life.’
It attracts around 12,000 people
and this year’s line-up included 91 international artists as well as nine foundation students from Stroud College of Art and Design. With a combination of sculptures
strategically placed throughout the grounds, guests were able to wander and wonder at installations varying from Thorn Tree by Natalia Dias comprising of 500 individual porcelain thorns assembled on a tree, Sound Mirrors by Rob Olins made up of brightly coloured acoustic mirrors, 1,000 cast jelly shoes poured in pink silicone rubber by Tom Hackett, three obsolete pianos rescued from a scrap heap and spontaneously reconfigured into a new structure on-site and Matt Durran’s Migration achieved with hot poured glass on to steel supports, to name but a few. The Quenington Sculpture Trust,
FRESH AIR’s registered charity since 1997, provides bursaries to talented artists, one of which was Alice Watson, a trapeze artist who gave intermittent performances under a huge copper beech tree. Bliss Hill from Stroud was also
awarded an apprenticeship by The Quenington Sculpture Trust to work and study for a 12 week period with Colin and Louise Hawkins of Loco Glass, Cirencester. Her installation, Kindred Spirit consisted of hand blown glass figures
42 COTSWOLDESSENCE | September - November 2013
www.cotswoldessence.co.uk
Kindred Spirit by Bliss Hill
standing on Cotswold stone. The Trust is supported by The
Arts Council, the Summerfield Trust, Strutt & Parker, the Cotswold District Council, and R K Harrison Insurance Services.
Prices ranged from £50 to £20,000 with one or two more expensive pieces up to £50,000.
Migration by Matt Durran
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