On a hunt for Goldilocks through the three bear's neighbourhood, Alfie Matthews stumbles across the hidden treasures of the Cass Sculpture Park's secret garden.

As thrilling as purchasing a new house or office - or even choosing to refresh your current environment - can be, it is often difficult to find that perfect accessory - the crowning addition to your art collection that will make it stand out and stand up as a paragon of your creatively acute mind. But, should you wander down to the woods today, you could be in for a big surprise.

The Cass Sculpture Foundation covers a 26-acre patch of woodland buried deep in the southern English countryside near Goodwood in West Sussex. The brainchild of Wilfred Cass - a successful businessman, captain of industry and the recent recipient of a CBE - and his wife Jeannette, the sculpture park is quite unique in the world of art.

Wilfred and Jeannette commission sculptors to build their dream pieces and then exhibit them in the park. Furthermore, every sculpture on display is for sale. In this way, it bucks the usual tendency for eminent artists to only provide sculpture parks with pieces they cannot sell. All proceeds from sales are split between the artist and the Cass Sculpture Foundation, with profits being ploughed into further commissions. Over the past 11 years, the park has featured over 120 works from some of the biggest names in contemporary sculpture, such as Antony Caro, Gavin Turk and Richard Long.

Many of the pieces are large in size but, pleasantly, the park's vast expanses give each room to breathe and be appreciated by visitors; there are only ever 52 exhibits in the main grounds and 14 in the 'chalk pit' - a specially excavated section for feature displays. Currently on show there is the largest exhibition ever shown in the UK of outdoor sculptures by Tony Cragg, the former Turner Prize winner. Cragg remains one of the most important sculptors at work today, creating monuments that riff on the themes of science and substance, which are mirrored by his diverse use of materials. Such is the success of this exhibition, its run has been extended until November 2006.

With the recent addition of a major new building by architect Craig Downie to house a library, research centre, gallery and conference spaces, Wilfred Cass is exceedingly close to achieving his goal for the foundation and its grounds "to eventually be the home of 21st century sculpture."

Article by Alfie Matthews, first published in the
July/Sept 2006 edition of X Magazine.