Fresh Air at Quenington
White Lotus, Rebecca Newnham, fibreglass and a white glass skin
Summer’s here and it’s time to get into the garden. The season’s programme of outdoor events kicks off with Fresh Air at Quenington Old Rectory from 14 June – 5 July
This biennial garden exhibition is one of the best on offer this summer. Art collectors David and Lucy Abel Smith who host the show in their Cotswolds garden, make a conscious effort to keep their offering fresh by adding new artists and events to the programme each year, and such is its kudos that they always manage to pull in a range of heavyweight names. They mix these with younger artists so that people like Wendy Ramshaw, Alison Crowther and Rebecca Newnham are showing alongside final year students from Gloucestershire University – it makes for a surprising and thought-provoking mix. And they keep the media varied too, so in spite of its traditional English-garden setting, it’s not just about wood, willow and stone, but also glass, resin, mixed media, acrylic, light and even plastic toys.
The event also attracts overseas exhibitors – this year Australian artists Nicholas Ulhmann and Greg Johns will be showing alongside Japanese artist Takeshi Nagasaki. And the Indian conceptual artist Ashish Ghosh has been given a bursary to make two installation pieces, Nest and Visible and Invisible. Other new work on show will be Aimee Lax’s Barbed, a day-glow acrylic, steel wire and an aluminium and glass installation made by Peter Barton at Loco Glass, Cirencester as the result of a bursary he was awarded at Fresh Air 2007.
www.freshair2009.com
