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Goodwood Art Foundation
Somehow I hadn’t heard of the Goodwood Art Foundation until earlier in the summer despite it being open over a year. Once I’d learned of it, and discovered that it was dog friendly with the exception of the gallery spaces, I knew that I wanted it to be a family outing. Our initial date was thwarted when I realised that they weren’t open on a wednesday, thank goodness I checked before setting out. Yesterday the weather was good enough for an outdoor wander without being so hot we had an overheating dog to worry about.
As we walked around I began to wonder if it was where the old CASS sculpture foundation space used to be. This was confirmed when I popped into the Pigott Gallery as the guide told me the space used to be the ticket office for CASS. The view from the gallery reminded me of the view from some of the windows of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art near Copenhagen. Looking at art with the green of trees and nature behind it. Stunning.
We stopped in at the on-site cafe, 24, as it was dog friendly, and sat out on the terrace beneath the trees, spotting a couple of the sculptures we’d just seen. Carrot cake for Richard, a raspberry muffin for me, and a treat for Breezy. Three satisfied customers.
The scale of Hélio Oiticica’s Magic Square #3 was breathtaking, and walking through it, hearing how it changed the sound around me, was even better. Colourful panels framing glimpses of the landscape beyond, it was wonderful to be part of the piece rather than just looking at it.
While being dark on the outside, the inner surface of the bars of Eva Rothschild’s Cosmos changes colour from top to bottom, meaning that as I walked around it I got a different feeling from it.
The main exhibition space was showing Nancy Holt’s MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater. I adored this piece, Mirrors of Light II, with its conceptually simple use of mirrors and a light source.
One of the exhibits, Solange Pessoa’s Nihil Novi Sub Sole, reminded me of the summit stones we’d seen at Pendle Hill the other week. I loved how they were scattered around the pathway leading me along as I looked at the patterns carved into soapstone. I like that, having watched this short film, the artist considers that the way that they age in the environment is part of the art itself.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. If I’d found somewhere like this while on holiday I’d have been delighted. Finding it an hour away from home makes it all the more special. From what I gather some of the sculptures will stick around for a while, and some will be refreshed. And obviously the landscape will vary with the seasons, it’s designed to have 24 seasonal moments, meaning each visit will always offer something new.
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Charleston House revisited
I hadn’t been inside Charleston House since 2017 but took advantage of a friend being a member and went with her. There’s been some changes since my last visit, a new exhibition space, and a new cafe. Where the cafe used to be is now the entrance to the house, and the new cafe has moved into a barn, a much bigger space. We were there on a day they were short-staffed, so bigger wasn’t necessarily better, but the food was good.
It was a glorious sunny day and the light coming through the windows was wonderful.
I wouldn’t have minded taking a seat there myself with a book, I do love a window seat.
The new exhibition inside the house is Growing up at Charleston and I believe this painting of Angelica with a table loom, The Weaver by Vanessa Bell, is part of that. I was taken with it because of the loom and weaving connection and my own history of using a rigid heddle loom in the past. I’ve written plenty here over the years about what I wove on it, though I sold the loom last year after it had languished under the bed for a few years.
Every surface is decorated in one way or another. I could have taken photos of tables, fireplaces, wardrobes, doors, but instead I chose a window decoration and a wall.
I really liked this painting, Landscape in Provence, France by Roger Eliot Fry. I liked it for the range of greens in use, from a yellowy-green to a dark bluey-green.
Charleston remains an inspiring place to visit. Just spending a moment thinking about the art created by those that passed through the doors is a bit mind-boggling, as is trying to keep track of the connections of who was there, when.
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Today’s walk: Lyveden
Heading home from Rutland, I found a couple of dog-friendly National Trust sites that we could visit.
The first of those was Lyveden. It doesn’t have charging and isn’t a very large site, but it is incredibly dog-friendly. Breezy was allowed in the manor house and into the cafe, which provided me with a very tasty chocolate and cherry scone. There were dog-related activities around the place too, including an agility course we tried with Breezy, though she was only interested as long as someone waved a treat under her nose.
I enjoyed visiting the lodge in the garden. It was very atmospheric. Odd to think that it’s pretty much in the same state as it was left in all those years ago.
The second site we visited was a return to the Wimpole Estate which does have charging but isn’t anywhere near as dog-friendly as Lyveden. There’s a red route that dogs mustn’t cross! There were lots of sheep in the park which caused Breezy to hyperventilate so we retreated to the cafe for a coffee before driving homewards.
