"Sculptures offer something that every member of a family can touch, in a way that connects them to their home and to each other." To celebrate the return of on form, the sculpture exhibition at Asthall Manor, we talk to Rosie Pearson. We ask her about the role of sculpture in our lives, sustainability, and how it feels to live in the previous home of the Mitford sisters.
Rosie Pearson is the custodian of Asthall Manor, Burford. With sculptor Anthony Turner, she founded on form and is Creative Director of the bi-annual exhibition.
Q: on form differs from most sculpture exhibitions because every piece is made from stone. Why did you choose this focus?
A: Stone has a natural connection with the earth. Its layers have built up over the years, incorporating fossils and changes. When you place a piece of stone sculpture in a garden, the plants will grow around it, but the sculpture’s stillness contains the growth of the stone through time.
I’m not sure anybody has put this better than the great sculptor Peter Randall-Page, whose work we are showing this year:
When you are moving across the surface of a stone, it’s akin to moving through a landscape. It’s like walking – your body is kept busy in quite a rhythmic way. The work of carving and placing stone sculpture is reassuring in this age because it shows that, after all, human beings can have a good relationship with the natural world.
In a normal year, we emphasise the importance of touching the sculpture, feeling the varying textures, and the way the stone absorbs the heat of the sun. People are feeling nervous about touch at the moment but, in the long run, sculpture should be caressed and there is nothing lovelier under the hand than stone.
A sculpture does not always have to be a grand statement on a plinth; it can be a friend that nestles beside a fallen tree, or leads you around a corner.
Q: The garden at Asthall Manor provides a wonderful backdrop for the works. How does the setting affect the viewing experience when it comes to sculpture?
A: I hope that the way Anna Greenacre (curator) and I place the work shows how sculpture can intensify a sense of space. Sculpture strikes up a relationship with the garden, the building, and the landscape. We love some of the less obvious places. A sculpture does not always have to be a grand statement on a plinth; it can be a friend that nestles beside a fallen tree or leads you around a corner. Sculpture can strike up a relationship with interior living spaces, too, and Toby Lorford has been a great collaborator. He finds just the right pieces of furniture to create a story around the sculpture.
Q: on form first started in 2002. How has it changed and evolved?
A: Well, the most obvious way is that we have a lot more sculpture! on form has gone from showing 54 pieces by 11 sculptors in 2002, to 381 by 40 sculptors in 2018. In 2006, I took on Anna Greenacre as curator, and the exhibition has deepened in thoughtfulness year on year as we have taken increasing care with the selection process.
Visitor numbers have also increased year on year, hitting 10,000 in 2018.
We have also added in carefully chosen events, from writing and painting workshops, to stone-carving, to theatre that works around the sculpture.
Q: on form is a holistic event, with food and a great social atmosphere. Do hospitality and entertaining come naturally to you?
A: Yes and no. I have discovered during lockdown that I am quite happy being a recluse. I do love surprising conversations, though, and I'm sure I will get back into the swing of things. Although, I do hope that the world is a little less frantic and over-planned in the future.
When people ask what something means, there is no correct answer. Our ethos is trust and friendliness.
Q: Why do events like on form matter?
We hope to bring joy and healing, especially in difficult times. We welcome all comers. People often say that they are afraid of art when it is in galleries. Here, there is no 'right thing' to say. When people ask what something means, there is no correct answer. Our ethos is trust and friendliness. We try not to have too many rules and signs (although we have a few extra ones this year, for obvious reasons).
Q: Asthall Manor is famously connected with the Mitford sisters. Has their story influenced your relationship with the house and its gardens?
A: To be honest, my debt to the Mitford sisters is that, without them, we would not have made such a splash during our early years. Their renown got us going because everybody wanted to come and see their old home, so I give them thanks for that. But the Mitfords would hardly recognise Asthall Manor as it is today. Their father was famously antisocial, and in fact, the front drive was closed off. There was virtually no garden, and strangers were viewed with suspicion. This is the antithesis of the on form magic.
They were a witty bunch, I'll give them that. They were the same generation, more or less, as my mother who visited the exhibition in 2004 and said - with a huge grin on her face - "aren't they hideous, darling?!"
Q: What brief, if any, did you give Julian and Isabel Bannerman when they redesigned the gardens?
A: I wanted everything to be completely wild. I didn't understand gardens at all. I just knew that my favourite places in gardens were always the wild bits. But Julian and Isabel were brilliant at explaining to me that you needed formality to frame and contrast with the wilderness. Lots of roses, I said, and a sense of magic and surprise. They got it.
We have kept the Mitford blue - an intense, dark blue - because I love it. I have lots of wallpaper and colour and odd things that refer to other phases of my life.
Q: Asthall Manor is a grand home with considerable history. How did you make it feel like your own? What makes your house your home?
Actually, it isn't all that grand. When I visited the house with a friend, who had not grown up in a big house, she said, "oh, this is so cosy Rosie," as we stood in the long hall at the centre of the house. "Just pull up two sofas to the fire, and it will be easy." I'm not sure I'd say it was easy, given the endless struggles to bring the carbon footprint and bills down, but it is true that the house is very friendly.
We have kept the Mitford blue - an intense, dark blue - because I love it. I have lots of wallpaper and colour and odd things that refer to other phases of my life. I lived in Jamaica for ten years, where my children were born and I started a school. My house there burned down in 2005, and I have several charred artworks in metal - the only material that survived the fire - on my walls.
Q: What sustainability campaigns are you working on at the moment?
A: On the home front, we are developing our walled garden to encourage biodiversity and regenerate the soil, as well as growing delicious vegetables. On the political front, I'm an activist for the Green Party and trying to get more Green councillors into local government.
Q: It's sometimes hard to know where to start when it comes to living a greener life. What changes can people make in the home?
It's really difficult, but put more jumpers on! Don't live in more than one house (hypocrisy alert: I own a small house in London, but we rent it out.) We do very serious composting, and try to close the loops so that we do not take more out of the soil than we give back.
Q: What can sculpture bestow on an interior that nothing else can?
A: Again, a sense of place. Timelessness. Sculptures offer something that every member of a family can touch, in a way that connects them to their home and to each other. They are also great conversation starters! Also, the relationship between sculpture and works on the wall can be interesting; sometimes an echo of a shape or line is not noticed straight away.
Q: Some people have reservations about incorporating sculpture into a smaller garden or space. Is it possible? What should they bear in mind?
A: Personally, I think it is easier to make a mistake in a big space than in a small one. In a small space, there is more for the sculpture to relate to. There can be something sad about a sculpture in a large open space if it is not sited with reference to its surroundings. Most sculptors will visit a site and they are are the best people to advise on siting the work. As I said, sculpture does not always have to be grand or on a plinth. We even sell sculptures you can sit on.
Q: Do you consider yourself a minimalist or a maximalist?
A: I am a nostalgist, so I have a lot of family oddments that are like familiars and help me to think about identity and time. As a result, I am definitely not a minimalist. I have tried to declutter during lockdown, but I don't think I have made any progress at all!
The gentler message is that we do not have to be as busy as we have been. People should not have to work so many hours, or travel so many miles, or plan their lives so far ahead.
Q: You've done an enormous amount in your life across various fields. What project are you most proud of and why?
A: I don't want to choose! I suppose more than anything I am proud of that diversity - of staying open to possibilities and letting things happen partly by accident. Everybody always says they are proud of their children, and I love and admire my two daughters, Annie and Dora. However, I try not to think of them as my achievements! I hope I still have a few new adventures ahead of me.
Q: The events you put on have a clear emphasis on life enhancement. What do you think we can learn from the pandemic about how we live?
A: Well, the difficult lesson, which I do not think is said enough, is that we need to have a kinder and more understanding relationship with the rest of the natural world. If we go on increasing the number of animals that are farmed for food, we will have another pandemic.
The gentler message is that we do not have to be as busy as we have been. People should not have to work so many hours, or travel so many miles, or plan their lives so far ahead.
Q: Have you picked up any new hobbies in lockdown?
A: Oh dear. Not really. I've intensified the ones I had already: my cooking has improved - mostly but not always vegan - as I have spent longer on it. I have tried to keep a regular journal and I haven't done too badly on that and I've made a few photo books. I love to make mosaic but, having taught my daughter and her boyfriend during the first lockdown, I have somehow not completed any of my own.
Q: Who is your dream dinner party guest? Why?
A: Maya Angelou, Queen Elizabeth I, Leonard Cohen, George Monbiot. Definitely Tim Harford from More or Less, because with his backing I might finally win an argument about economics.
on form demonstrates the power of sculpture in indoor and outdoor settings. You can view our collection of antique sculptures and statuary on our website.
Read all of our Q&As on L-Shaped.