Coppice Room by Andy Goldsworthy is made up of a crop of tree trunks from the Jupiter Artland grounds, which the artist installed inside a previously derelict building. The tree trunks run from floor to ceiling, giving the viewer the impression that they are entering not just a dense wood but the tree itself.

The idea for Coppice Room arose from Goldsworthy’s realisation that a derelict building made ‘a perfect site for a work that relies for its success at least partly on the experience of encountering the unexpected.’ Goldsworthy noted that by creating Coppice Room, he wanted to make a building connected to Jupiter Artland’s wood in the same way that Stone House (Bonnington) connects to its bedrock.

‘Coppice Room remains a hidden place to come across almost by chance. The way a work is approached, the space it occupies and the atmosphere it creates are critical to its success. At Jupiter Artland, the works are allowed to speak for themselves.’ Andy Goldsworthy

Alongside Coppice Room, Jupiter Artland’s permanent collection includes three other artworks by Goldsworthy: Stone House (Bonnington), Clay Tree Wall and Stone Coppice.

Biography

In a diverse career spanning four decades, Andy Goldsworthy has become one of the most prominent and iconic contemporary British sculptors. Born in 1956, he was brought up on the Harrogate side of Leeds in the green belt, working as a farm labourer from a young age. The repetitive nature of the work informed his creative practice. He studied Fine Art at Bradford College of Art from (1974–5) and then at Preston Polytechnic (1975–8). In 1993, Goldsworthy received an honorary degree from the University of Bradford. He was an A.D. White Professor-At-Large in Sculpture at Cornell University 2000–6 and 2006–8. He now lives in Dumfriesshire and travels internationally to undertake commissions and create new works.

In photographs, sculptures, installations, and films, Goldsworthy documents his explorations of the effects of time, the relationship between humans and their natural surroundings, and the beauty in loss and regeneration. His art involves natural and found objects to create temporary and permanent sculptures that reflect the character of their environment. He is well known for his ephemeral pieces which are made from natural materials such as snow, ice, wood, flowers, leaves, sand, mud and twigs, alongside works permanent – but ever-changing – works in stone.

Recent permanent site-specific installations by Goldsworthy include Walking Wall, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri; Watershed, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts; Stone Sea, Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri; Chaumont Cairn, Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, France; Path and Rising Stone, Albright Knox Art Gallery, New York; and Wood Line, Presidio of San Francisco, California. Goldsworthy is currently working on Hanging Stones in North York Moors, UK. In this ongoing project, ten existing buildings, all in varying states of disrepair, have been or will be rebuilt as artworks and connected by a six-mile walk encompassing Northdale, near Rosedale Abbey.

Permanent works can be seen at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; de Young Museum, California; Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York; Storm King Art Center, New York; Stanford University, California; and Haute Provence Geological Reserve in Digne-les-Bains, France. Major solo exhibitions of Goldsworthy’s work have been presented by the Yorkshire Sculpture Park; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía; Metropolitan Museum of Art New York; Neuberger Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; and Des Moines Art Center, Illinois.