Stone Coppice by Andy Goldsworthy is a series of large rocks placed among the growing branches of coppiced trees. Over time, the trees gradually entwine and elevate the rocks, offering a counterintuitive revelation of which of the elements in the piece are most powerful.

A coppiced wood is one in which the trees are cropped, throwing up new growth and becoming multi-stemmed which gives the wood a strong feeling of linear verticality. In Stone Coppice, Goldsworthy placed large stones in a tree with limbs able to receive it. The vertical growth and movement increases the sense that the stones are being pulled out of the ground and pushed upwards in defiance of gravity.

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

‘Stone Coppice will always be a work in progress, the future of which is not, and probably never will be, resolved.’ Andy Goldsworthy

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.