DAVID NASH

The artist has developed a deep understanding of trees and wood over many years of observing nature and practicing sculpture. Through his intimate knowledge of the qualities of trees, both living and cut, he has developed a unique artistic idiom. In the process, drawing has played a vital role alongside carving. What began as a tool for sketching ideas or memorising sculptures has quickly evolved into a free and independent creative endeavour.

The exhibition encompasses five decades of works on paper, showcasing the subjects that have captivated the artist. Adjacent are works in pastel, charcoal or watercolour, as well as others in which David Nash applies raw pigments directly to the paper, in an energetic process typical of a sculptor’s gesture. This practice was born from the creation of stencil prints executed for Lelong Éditions. The artist leaves halos of colour around delineated forms, but also dust, stains and sometimes fingerprints that testify to the process of his work. Everything that, according to him, detracts from the sense of the “right moment”, is reduced or eliminated. As a result, a dynamic tension of gesture and precision characterises Nash’s drawings, reflecting the hybrid nature of his sculptures, where craftsmanship and the force of nature coexist.

Among his works with pure pigments, we note his red and black compositions, born from his observation of charred redwood blocks. Just as his sculpture reveals his sensitivity to natural forms, his observation of the infinite nuances of colour in nature often translates into his works on paper. In Oak Leaves Through May, for example, he traces and records the progression of five colours over the first ten days of the oak’s leafing.

45 Years of Drawing offers the first opportunity to gauge the breadth of Nash’s engagement with drawing, revealing the essential role it plays in his artistic journey. The works on view capture the immediacy and evolution of his ideas over the years, offering new insights into the world of an artist whose work is as much about process as it is about final form. As Nash himself notes, ‘all I can hope for is that the ‘truth’ of the idea is indicated in the life of the marks.’