Studio 2

David Nash

The Wooden Boulder is one of David Nash’s most celebrated series of works. It began in 
1978 when he was asked to remove a 
damaged oak near his home in Blaenau Ffestiniog. From the felled tree he carved a spherical shape and decided to take it to his studio using the nearby stream. There began an ongoing relationship, plotting and drawing its journey and disappearances in the river Dwyryd for over 40 years. The exhibition includes works on paper and a film of the boulder and its journey which has brought many surprises over the years, the first being that the tannin in the oak reacted with the iron in the water, making it black in contrast with the foaming water. Over the years, it has been moved by the force of the water, sometimes stranded for a while and at other times disappearing for years.

David Nash is one of Wales’s most respected artists. He was elected a Royal Academician over 20 years ago and has received an OBE for services to the arts. He has exhibited internationally, including major solo exhibitions at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Kew Gardens and National Museum Wales. His work is held in over 80 public collections all over the world. Coinciding with this exhibition at Ruthin, he will be showing work at Galerie Lelong in Paris and Annely Juda in London.

Curated by Ann Jones