Dimensions: support: 1530 x 2750 mm
Copyright: © David Nash | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: This is David Nash’s ‘Sphere,’ from the Tate collection. It's a striking installation of geometric forms, both sculptural and painted. What do you see in this piece, beyond the obvious shapes? Curator: I see a powerful commentary on the relationship between humans and the environment. Nash, born in 1945, came of age during a period of intense industrial growth and increasing awareness of its environmental impact. Editor: So, the stark forms are a critique? Curator: Precisely. The geometric shapes could represent a human imposition of order onto the natural world, while the rough, unrefined material hints at the violence inherent in that process. What do you think about that idea? Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't considered. I was focused on the visual impact, but the historical context definitely adds another layer. Curator: Absolutely, art doesn't exist in a vacuum, and understanding its historical and social context is vital. Editor: This was incredibly insightful! It’s made me see this piece in a whole new light.
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tate about 2 months ago
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Sphere is a large charcoal drawing on canvas by the British artist David Nash featuring a dense black form that represents a sphere. Although the work’s title refers to this shape, it is not completely round, taking on a more organic form in which irregularities are visible. Surrounding the sphere is a border of smudged charcoal that emanates from the shape’s otherwise clearly defined edges. Sphere is one of six elements that make up Nash’s installation Pyramid, Sphere, Cube 1997–8, which consists of two further charcoal drawings – Pyramid (Tate T07542) and Cube (Tate T07544) – along with three wooden sculptures with charred black surfaces that take the form of a pyramid, a sphere and a cube and are the same scale as the shapes depicted in the drawings (see Pyramid, Tate T07539, Sphere, Tate T07540, and Cube, Tate T07541). The three drawings are displayed in a row on the gallery wall, with each appearing alongside its corresponding three-dimensional shape, which rests on the gallery floor in front of it. Although the spacing between the six elements of the installation depends on the dimensions of the room in which they are displayed, the drawings are usually positioned so that their lower edges are approximately 35 cm from the floor, and the spaces between the drawings can range between 5 cm and 30 cm, with the sculptures being centred on their corresponding drawing.
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