When Studio Swine’s ‘breathing’ sculpture first huffed and puffed into life at Eden Project in 2017, it put the Cornwall institution on the map as a budding destination for contemporary art. Since then its collection has come into full bloom, most recently with new sculptural additions by Ryan Gander and Jenny Kendler, installed in the grounds alongside works from Julian Opie and Tim Shaw that arrived earlier in the year and a sound piece by Hayden Dunham.
The Grimshaw Architects-designed Biome buildings form the backdrop to a site-specific work by Opie, who has created monolithic video ‘monument to the crowd’. Elsewhere on the grounds, Kendler’s 40ft-long sculpture Birds Watching – first commissioned for Storm King in New York and newly adapted for Eden Project – comprises a 100-strong ‘flock’ of reflective birds’ eyes mounted on aluminium, while Ryan Gander’s marble fountain, fashioned in the likeness of his wife Rebecca, playfully spits water at passersby.
Coinciding with the unveiling of Eden’s permanent installations is a temporary exhibition that explores the relationship between artificial intelligence and creativity through the lens of five artists inspired by nature. The results are diverse and thought-provoking, from the parallels drawn between the European ‘tulipmania’ of the 1630s and modern-day cryptocurrency speculation (care of British artist Anna Ridler), to Jon McMcCormack’s algorithm-generated plant images formed from the graphic elements of oil company logos.
RELATED STORY
Nestled in a former china clay pit, the Eden Project has provided a gateway to the natural world since 2001. Recent efforts by the Eden Trust have focused on diversifying the charity’s cultural programme that has seen several international music acts perform at the site over the years. Now, bolstered by a formal commitment to a new arts strategy, senior curator Misha Curson – previously of the Cass Sculpture Foundation – will ensure that Eden Project’s artistic programming has a clear vision for the future.
To employ the mistress.... It’s a French toff thing, 2015, by Ryan Gander
Bloemenveiling, 2019,
Fifty Sisters, 2012, by Jon McCormack
INFORMATION
‘Artificial Creators: Inspired by Nature’, until 29 September, Eden Project. edenproject.com
ADDRESS
Eden Project
Bodelva
St Austell
Cornwall PL24 2SG
-
This year's best luxury Christmas hampers for festive celebrationsThe best Christmas hampers are a classic gift for a reason: everyone loves receiving a basket of beautifully curated pantry fillers just in time for the festivities. Here are our top picks for 2024
-
17 questions for Michael KiwanukaAs he prepares to release his fourth album 'Small Changes', we ask Michael Kiwanuka some of life's important questions
-
Inside ‘M&OTHERS’, the experimental exhibition dissecting the relationship between fashion and motherhoodA new exhibition at Modemuseum Hasselt, Belgium explores the rarely examined link between fashion and motherhood, in all its forms
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary artAs Jack Whitten exhibition ‘Speedchaser’ opens at Hauser & Wirth, London, and before a major retrospective at MoMA opens next year, we explore the American artist's impact
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s ParkTwenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
-
Harlem-born artist Tschabalala Self’s colourful ode to the landscape of her childhoodTschabalala Self’s new show at Finland's Espoo Museum of Modern Art evokes memories of her upbringing, in vibrant multi-dimensional vignettes
-
Wanås Konst sculpture park merges art and nature in SwedenWanås Konst’s latest exhibition, 'The Ocean in the Forest', unites land and sea with watery-inspired art in the park’s woodland setting
-
Pino Pascali’s brief and brilliant life celebrated at Fondazione PradaMilan’s Fondazione Prada honours Italian artist Pino Pascali, dedicating four of its expansive main show spaces to an exhibition of his work
-
John Cage’s ‘now moments’ inspire Lismore Castle Arts’ group showLismore Castle Arts’ ‘Each now, is the time, the space’ takes its title from John Cage, and sees four artists embrace the moment through sculpture and found objects
-
Gerhard Richter unveils new sculpture at Serpentine SouthGerhard Richter revisits themes of pattern and repetition in ‘Strip-Tower’ at London’s Serpentine South
-
Peter Blake’s sculptures spark joy at Waddington Custot in London‘Peter Blake: Sculpture and Other Matters’, at London's Waddington Custot, spans six decades of the artist's career
