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
-
Exclusive: Thom Yorke and artist Stanley Donwood reminisce on 30 years of Radiohead album artAs the pair’s back catalogue of album sleeves, paintings, musings and more goes on show at Oxford’s Ashmolean, Radiohead singer-songwriter Yorke and his longtime collaborator Donwood talk exclusively to Wallpaper’s Craig McLean
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThis week, our editors have been privy to the latest restaurants, art, music, wellness treatments and car shows. Highlights include a germinating artwork and a cruise along the Pacific Coast Highway…
-
An instant modern classic, the new Hyundai Inster is an all-conquering, all-electric city carSmall EVs are making big waves as the tech continues to evolve. Hyundai shows everyone else how to do it
-
Creativity and rest reign at this Tuscan residence for Black queer artistsMQBMBQ residency founder Jordan Anderson sparks creativity at his annual Tuscan artist residency. Wallpaper* meets him to hear about this year's focus.
-
Rolf Sachs’ largest exhibition to date, ‘Be-rühren’, is a playful study of touchA collection of over 150 of Rolf Sachs’ works speaks to his preoccupation with transforming everyday objects to create art that is sensory – both emotionally and physically
-
Architect Erin Besler is reframing the American tradition of barn raisingAt Art Omi sculpture and architecture park, NY, Besler turns barn raising into an inclusive project that challenges conventional notions of architecture
-
Photographer Mohamed Bourouissa reflects on society, community and the marginalised at MASTMohamed Bourouissa unites his work from the last two decades at Bologna’s Fondazione MAST
-
Ten super-cool posters for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics have just been unveiledThe Olympic committees asked ten young artists for their creative take on the 2026 Milano Cortina Games
-
What is recycling good for, asks Mika Rottenberg at Hauser & Wirth MenorcaUS-based artist Mika Rottenberg rethinks the possibilities of rubbish in a colourful exhibition, spanning films, drawings and eerily anthropomorphic lamps
-
San Francisco’s controversial monument, the Vaillancourt Fountain, could be facing demolitionThe 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 SomersetAn intimate exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Somerset explores three decades of a creative partnership
