Welcoming Walter Bailey - reverence, gratitude, the miraculous

Walter Bailey (United Kingdom)

reverence, gratitude, the miraculous

'Woman and Cosmos'

(Click on image to enlarge)

When I first encountered Walter Bailey's sculptures, I was nothing less than astonished;

This was ancient... giants...gods and goddesses were playing...

The complexity of the 'lacing' of the wood was one (incredible) aspect - but then also, the way the grain of the wood appeared... as I have only seen it in the ancient, 'burned by time', almost fossilized, wood structures - more than a thousand years old - (wooden) 'stave churches' of my homeland, Norway. And then, of course - I realized - Walter Bailey, in England; he is a 'Celtic spirit'. (There certainly is a relationship between these old, old wooden structures and Walter Bailey's)

Since then, I have learned that some amazing writers have written some beautiful things about Walter's work;

‘The poetry and authenticity in Bailey’s work might in part be described in Robert Lowell’s definition of true poetry: a ‘commanding, deadly effectiveness in the arrangement, and something that breathes and pauses and grunts and is rough and unpredictable to assure me the journey is honest.’[1] The making of the works requires immense strength, skill and judgement; they represent Bailey’s humility towards the human scale in relation to the mythic; and also his awareness of the continuous transformational or ‘alchemical exchange’between the human and the non-human. It is this sense of balance, also in the work’s relationship to present and past, and in the artist’s commitment to being open-hearted in the face of vulnerability, that gives Bailey’s sculpture its strength, and which gives the viewer an experience of liberation.’ (© Kay Syrad)

Walter Bailey is based in Mid Sussex, UK, and works both nationally and internationally. He works in wood and ice, carving directly with a chainsaw.

“The woodland is my studio; I work there throughout the year drawing nourishment and inspiration from the rhythm of the seasons, the changing landscape".

He has received numerous public and private commissions: Just to mention a few: A Flame for Dunblane; Holy Florian in Styria in Austria; Oak Figure in Broadwater Park, Godalming, and Surrey.

His exhibiting in Kew Gardens and the Chelsea Show should also be mentioned.

And, he shows his work regularly at the Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden.

Walter Bailey won the International Enku Award for Universal Truth, beauty and goodness in Sculpture, in Japan.

“One of the remarkable features of Bailey’s work is its ability to hold or contain transformatory human experience. A number of works are concerned with journeying over different stages in one’s life, from trauma towards healing.” (© Kay Syrad)

To read more of Kay Syrad’s beautiful presentation of Walter Bailey’s art:

http://www.fourthdoor.co.uk/unstructured/unstructured_06/walter_bailey.php

 

Art Sanctuary Welcomes back Nicky Bendix; A truly Inspirational Collaborator!

Nicky Bendix (DK) ,  award winning musician and composer from Denmark, has already been very successful in ‘The Enchanted Garden’  - his live concerts and 2 Art Sanctuary Special Edition CD’s – played as sound installations, have received much acclaim by our visitors.

Nicky Bendix specializes in crossover art that combines sound and music with words, sculptures, paintings and many other medias. This year he returns with a whole new project:
'Nord Profond' - the album
in collaboration with French artist, Francois Monnet, also exhibiting at Art Sanctuary with his very special collection of 'kakemonos' and photos (See introduction of Francois Monnet).
 'Nord Profond' - the album: (parts of which will be experienced as a sound installation during the exhibition) - of which 'C'est le rêve' , by Olav H. Hauge is the poem which has inspired the Theme of 'The Enchanted Garden', 2011 - 2013.

A meeting between French actor and artist Francois Monnet and Danish composer Nicky Bendix, resulted in the creation of a spoken word album, based on the French translation of the poems of legendary Norwegian poet Olav Hauge. Francois Monnet lived for ten years in Norway and has published the book ”Nord Profond” in France - a collection of poems by Olav Hauge translated into French.
Meeting in Nicky Bendix's studio in Denmark, the two artists layed the foundation for the CD and recorded Francois Monnet reciting the poems. Nicky Bendix has since been sculpting the music and sounds around the poems, creating a contemporary soundscape with a classical touch, mixed with sounds from the Scandinavian nature and electronic instruments.

An extra feature is guest artist Miriam Monnet Kielberg, violinist, composer and daughter of Francois Monnet. Miriam studies folk music at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Odense, Denmark. She contributes to the album with one of her original compositions, her singing and her virtuos violin playing.

At Art Sanctuary 2013 a selection of Olav Hauge poems from this collaboration will be presented, in connection with some of Francois Monnets other artworks.

But also:
Nicky Bendix is contributing music for 'Forest Temple', an installation by Tone Aanderaa;

- "FOREST TEMPLE" - music installation.
Recorded and composed for the international outdoor exhibition Art Sanctuary, opening june 28th in Jodoigne, Belgium.  Music to be played inside a small forest temple, decorated with the works of norwegian painter Tone Aanderaa. A place to connect with the Spiritual forces of nature and your own, immortal self.
See further info arriving.

Please visit Nicky Bendix' website.

Welcoming Jean de la Kethulle - Seeing with the Eye of Chicara

Jean de la Kethulle (B) is landscape architect by education, and he believes that every landscape is beautiful "by nature".  Combining earth and concrete, his sculptures are designed to ‘facilitate’ a very special visual experience, not only of this ‘Enchanted Garden’, but the entire landscape surrounding it – in a whole new way.

 

 

'Eye of Chicara'

(photo: Tone Aanderaa)

Architecte paysagiste de formation, Jean de la Kethulle est convaincu que tout paysage est beau «par nature». Mêlant terre et béton, ses sculptures sont conçues pour «faciliter» une expérience visuelle très spéciale, non seulement de ce «Jardin Enchanté», mais aussi de l'ensemble du paysage qui l'entoure – d’une toute nouvelle façon.

Jean de la Kethulle (B), van opleiding landschapsarchitect, is deze beeldhouwer ervan overtuigd dat elk landschap spontaan mooi is. Hij ontwerpt zijn beelden in leem-beton vanuit het oogpunt van de esthetische waarde door een andere bril op te zetten en te ... genieten.  Deze kunstenaar is van mening dat zijn beelden als dusdanig bijkomstig zijn, daar deze fungeren als hulpmiddel om de belevingswaarde van de omgeving te optimaliseren. Zijn beeldeninstallatie zal dan ook “De Betoverende Tuin” en het landschap errond in het middelpunt plaatsen.

'Eye of Chicara'
(photo: Tone Aanderaa)