For a man who was born in the remote Swiss village of Sent, Not Vital is a seriously global sculptor. The nomadic artist has ongoing projects as far-flung as Rio de Janeiro, Bataan, Niger – and now Wakefield.
Until January next year, Yorkshire Sculpture Park in the Bretton Hall Estate will display an extensive range of Vital's work. Each nook of the 18th century grounds has been occupied by a visionary Vital piece, including Let 100 Flowers Bloom (2008), which is scattered across the park's lengthy terrace. This complex installation comprises a century of elegant lotus buds on 3m-long stems, rendered in stainless steel.
Vital's smaller works are equally as eye-catching. Down in the Underground Gallery, visitors stumble upon Snowball (1999), a delicate glass globe encasing what appears to be a hand-formed ball of snow, evocative of Vital's wintry birthplace. Here, paintings and more fragile works are sensibly shielded from the Yorkshire elements.
Back in the open air of the parkland, Big Tongue (1996–97) nestles near the mouth of Bothy Gardens, and HEADS (2014) stand tall against the dark green of a historic yew hedge. Despite their contemporary shine, YSP director of programme Clare Lilley notes that 'the works bear resemblance to 18th century follies' – it feels like they could have lived in the grounds for years.
Their natural appearance belies their tricky installation. 'Siting an almost 8m-high tongue in a late snow blizzard wasn’t the easiest,' confirms Lilley. 'And the huge ceramic HEADS came from Jingdezhen in the south of China on a very slow boat. They nearly missed the party.'
Despite the diverse and eclectic range of sculptures, the display is effortlessly cohesive. 'It’s not easy to imagine an exhibition when you’ve only ever seen its components in different parts of the world, but this far exceeds my expectations,' she concludes. Each sculpture poetically reflects the place it was created, but all bear Vital's signature, unifying touch.
The nomadic artist has ongoing projects in locales as far-flung as Rio de Janeiro, Bataan and Niger. Pictured: Moon, 2015
The 18th century grounds have been filled with visionary Vital pieces. Pictured: Let 100 Flowers Bloom, 2008, is scattered across the park's lengthy terrace
Vital's smaller works are just as eye-catching as his larger, monumental ones. Pictured: installation view of the Underground Gallery
Down in the Underground Gallery, visitors stumble upon Snowball (1999), a delicate glass globe encasing what appears to be a hand-formed ball of snow, evoking Vital's wintry birthplace. Pictured: Snowball, 1999
Here, paintings and more fragile works are shielded from the Yorkshire elements
Back in the open air of the parkland, Big Tongue nestles near the mouth of Bothy Gardens. Pictured: Big Tongue, 1996–97
YSP director of programme Clare Lilley explains, 'the huge ceramic HEADS came from Jingdezhen in the south of China on a very slow boat. They nearly missed the party.' Pictured: HEADS, 2015
INFORMATION
'Not Vital' is on view until 2 January 2017. For more information, visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park website
Photography coutesy the artist and YSP
ADDRESS
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
West Bretton
Wakefield, WF4 4LG
-
The 24 best photographs of 2024, shot for the pages of Wallpaper*Photography editor, Sophie Gladstone, completes her year in review, with some personal highlights from Wallpaper* photographers in 2024
-
Time, beauty, history – all are written into trees in Karimoku Research Center's debut Tokyo exhibitionThe layered world of forests – and their evolving relationship with humans – is excavated and reimagined in 'The Age of Wood', a Tokyo exhibition at Karimoku Research Center
-
Tour Xi'an's remarkable new 'human-centred' shopping district with designer Thomas HeatherwickXi'an district by Heatherwick Studio, a 115,000 sq m retail development in the Chinese city, opens this winter. Thomas Heatherwick talks us through its making and ambition
-
Louis Fratino leans into queer cultural history in ItalyLouis Fratino’s 'Satura', on view at the Centro Pecci in Italy, engages with queer history, Italian landscapes and the body itself
-
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
-
‘Regeneration and repair is a really important part of how I work’: Bharti Kher at Yorkshire Sculpture ParkBharti Kher unveils the largest UK museum exhibition of her career at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
-
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
-
‘I just don't like eggs!’: Andrea Fraser unpacks the art marketArtist Andrea Fraser’s retrospective ‘I just don't like eggs!’ at Fondazione Antonio dalle Nogare, Italy, explores what really makes the art market tick
