Local sculptor exhibits in Salisbury

Keith Rand prefers to sculpt with timber

An exhibition contemporary wooden sculptures by a local sculptor can currently be seen at Mompesson House In Salisbury until November 1.

To ensure appeal for all age groups, sculptor Keith Rand has laid a trail of wooden moths around the exhibits.

The exhibition is designed to be a serene and thought provoking experience taking you from past to present and back again.

Rand works in a studio on the Clarendon Estate near Salisbury, using indigenous wood.

He works in a studio on the Clarendon Estate near Salisbury, using indigenous wood. For this exhibition, he used timber sourced within a 20 mile radius of Salisbury.

The acclaimed sculptor says timber is his preferred medium because it enables him to take inspiration from the ancient downs of Wiltshire and Dorset that he walks in and loves.

He says: "Carving directly in timber, often locally sourced and in the green, I arrive at shapes and surface textures that remind me of the closely grazed pastures; the shifts along a blade of grass; the wind shaped trees and field patterns that have caught my imagination.

"The timber surfaces are alive with the marks of the traditional bladed hand tools that I use to shape the wood.

"Each sculpture has its own patina: ridges and edges are polished, reminiscent of the light that catches a distant horizon or an ancient field boundary; broad sweeps and concentrated areas of colour relate to those seen in grasses, pastures and field margins or within the deep shadows stretching across a valley.

"I carve and construct with wood because it allows me to explore my observations and rests easily with my environmental concerns."

Curator of the exhibition Annette Ratuszniak and Keith saw the potential of bringing his contemporary sculpture into Mompesson House, a regular venue for exhibitions.

I carve and construct with wood because it allows me to explore my observations and rests easily with my environmental concerns Sculptor, Keith Rand

Keith explains: "We feel that displaying the exhibition in Mompesson House create dynamic relationships and harmonies between past and present.

"The ethos of the National Trust, and its interest in keeping traditional skills and materials alive, echoes many of my own concerns.

"Juxtaposing my work against the earlier hand made furniture and furnishings, in the softly lit interiors of Mompesson House contrasts starkly with the traditional 'white' spaces of contemporary galleries."

"We have aimed to 'court the spaces' - responding to the nature of each room and sensitive to the changing mood of falling light. We have also laid throughout the house a trail of the little wooden moths that I sometimes make; a trail for children to follow with the help of clues."

See Keith Rand's wood sculpture exhibition in the spacious 18th century Mompesson House in Cathedral Close, Salisbury until November 1.