Eden Project branches out with 2019 art programme
The Cornwall-based attraction and eductional charity has unveiled the latest additions to its growing permanent art collection, including new works by Julian Opie and Ryan Gander

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
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Omar Degan to curate first Pan-African architecture biennale
The first Pan-African architecture biennale has been announced, taking place in Nairobi in 2026; we caught up with its inaugural curator, architect Omar Degan, to discuss the festival's mission, vision and scope
-
Slate is an ultra-simple EV truck intended as an affordable and customisable workhorse
Slate designer Tisha Johnson discusses her role at the US electric truck start-up, a company that wants its customers to have complete freedom of expression
-
Teenage Engineering switches to the dark side with the Field System Black series
None more black: TE’s studio in a pocket is reissued in a new matte black finish to match the cult audio company’s OP-XY sequencer
-
San Francisco’s controversial monument, the Vaillancourt Fountain, could be facing demolition
The brutalist fountain is conspicuously absent from renders showing a redeveloped Embarcadero Plaza and people are unhappy about it, including the structure’s 95-year-old designer
-
See the fruits of Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely's creative and romantic union at Hauser & Wirth Somerset
An intimate exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Somerset explores three decades of a creative partnership
-
Technology, art and sculptures of fog: LUMA Arles kicks off the 2025/26 season
Three different exhibitions at LUMA Arles, in France, delve into history in a celebration of all mediums; Amy Serafin went to explore
-
Inside Yinka Shonibare's first major show in Africa
British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare is showing 15 years of work, from quilts to sculptures, at Fondation H in Madagascar
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary art
As 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 Park
Twenty-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 childhood
Tschabalala 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 Sweden
Wanås Konst’s latest exhibition, 'The Ocean in the Forest', unites land and sea with watery-inspired art in the park’s woodland setting