On our way to Goodwood Races in West Sussex one Saturday, we flashed past the entrance to the Sculpture Estate, the 26-acres woodland home to the Cass Foundation's collection of contemporary British sculptures. Returning £95 pounds poorer, we decided to stop in. £10 buys entry to an idyllic, open-air setting where some 70 monumental works make their home, at least temporarily. At 70p a piece, that sounded like a bargain!
We strolled whichever direction took our fancy. We came upon constructions in glass, stone, metal standing amidst the greenery.
Some works were strikingly beautiful, several so finely engineered they seemed to defy gravity, a few downright silly. Overall, there was plenty to arrest our gaze. A two-hour amble later, our spirits had revived.
The Cass Foundation commissions new work on a regular basis, funded by the sales of existing pieces (at prices in the hundreds of thousands). It's a virtuous circle conceived to ensure the future of British large-scale sculpture. There is nothing coincidental or random about the strong relationships the Cass Foundation is forging with artists, dealers, architects and private buyers. Turns out, Goodwood is a good deal more than just a fun end to a day at the races.
Simon Davies
Managing Director, DogStar Design
Originally published in Spark, Issue 2.
