Landscapes, installations and photographs are at the fore in a compelling mix of contemporary exhibitions at The Rodd this year.
The Sidney Nolan Trust has announced their 2023 programme and looks forward to welcoming visitors to The Rodd from Thursday, March 30. The Rodd, the former home of Australian artist Sir Sidney Nolan is a centre for contemporary arts near Presteigne, offering the opportunity to enjoy world-class exhibitions in a rural environment.
Well-known for bringing together a wide variety of diverse artistic practices, the Trust's 2023 programme opens next week with exhibitions of new work by artist/producer Jony Easterby alongside Pippa Taylor, landscape paintings by artist Philip Hughes and sculpture and installations by recent graduates Rick Greswell and Kate Harvey.
The spring season will open with a survey exhibition titled Thirty Years of Landscape by Philip Hughes. The exhibition unites landscapes from Scotland, Ireland’s Atlantic fringe and the England-Wales border, with vast landscapes from Australia and Antarctica. United in this way they reveal the reoccurring themes - geology, ecology and archaeology – that are central to his understanding the land.
In tandem, 2022 resident artist Jony Easterby presents new work alongside Pippa Taylor in a culmination of his year with the Trust. The exhibition celebrates their love of darkness and light with the title for the exhibition In Praise of Shadows borrowed directly from the classic essay on Japanese aesthetics by the Japanese author and novelist Jun'ichirō Tanizaki.
The Trust will also unveil a series of outdoor installations. Dead Standing by Jony Easterby draws on Australian bushfire narratives, drought-resistant planting and the processes of regeneration. Also outdoors, visitors can explore sculpture and installations by emerging artists Rick Greswell and Kate Harvey, both recent graduates of the Hereford College of Art MA Fine Art Programme.
During the summer the Trust is proud to host work by Australian artist Dean Cross plus Earth Photo 2023 which explores images and short films that address climate change issues. The exhibition Sidney Nolan Revealed will present a series of new displays in the beautiful 17th century Rodd Court, exploring the concept of process as central to Nolan’s artwork and will exhibit new artworks and artefacts from the Trust’s collection and archive.
From May 25, the exhibition of work by Dean Cross will further develop the Trust's work with contemporary Australian artists. Cross was born and raised on Ngunnawal / Ngambri Country and a Worimi man through his paternal bloodline. Works will include his recent twin-channel video work, SOMETIMES I MISS THE APPLAUSE, commissioned by Heide Museum of Modern Art in Australia in tandem with the museum’s 2022 exhibition Sidney Nolan: Search for Paradise.
This year the Trust will be a new partner in the international photography and moving image competition Earth Photo 2023, on display from July 13. Earth Photo will focus on the pressing issues affecting the planet to stimulate conversations about environment and the impact of climate change. Prize-winners and shortlisted entries will be presented in beautiful large format outdoors at The Rodd during the summer.
In August, the Trust will be working with curator Patricia Brien to tour her exhibition Plant Communitas, which was first shown at Museum in the Park, Stroud, last year. The exhibition features a community of artists from diverse practices, places and different times. Together the artworks in the exhibition highlight the aliveness and presence of the plant kingdom and acknowledge that Western societies are increasingly focusing on the capacity of plants to nourish, nurture, heal and medicate.
The Rodd will be open from March 30, with weekly opening times Thursday to Saturday, 11am – 4pm.
There is a pop-up cafe serving cakes, teas, coffee and soft drinks, and the Rodd is dog friendly.
For full details about what’s on and where to find the Trust visit www.sidneynolantrust.org