David Nash

Over a forty-year span, a select group of trees has found new life beyond their natural ones as part of David Nash’s stunning sculptures. Using only materials that have met an organic end, Nash has shaped and scorched, chiseled and chopped to create fascinating and often epic sculptures. Thanks to a year-long residency at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the public had a unique chance to see Nash in action as he worked to create an evolving exhibition in one of the world’s greatest gardens.

Capturing all of this and more is the retrospective David Nash: A Natural Gallery. It serves as a visual interpretation of Nash’s work, both during his residency at the Gardens and his artistic career as a whole. The book chronicles the exhibits Nash created over his year at Kew, with rich photographs that show the works developing over time and their interplay with the changing seasonal background. Older works are also featured with explanations that detail Nash’s process, including where the source materials were found, what tools were used, and interpretations of the work. The book also includes essays that explore different facets of Nash’s art and practice, in which academics and critics offer their analysis of the methods used by Nash and his commitment to the environment, which he calls our “outer skin.” Together, the striking images and insightful analyses give readers a special glimpse of the creative processes as Nash creates his ethereal statements about humanity’s relationship with nature.