David Nash - 45 Years of Drawing

David Nash’s lifelong exploration of the nature of wood and its habitats has established him as one of Britain’s foremost artists working in sculpture and environmental installations. Through his profound understanding of the qualities of trees - both in life and after being cut - he has developed a unique artistic idiom. Drawing has played a vitally important role alongside his sculptural work. What began as a tool for sketching ideas for sculptures soon evolved into an independent creative endeavour, as effective in swiftly capturing ideas as the physical directness of carving. This publication accompanies an expansive exhibition, encompassing 45 years of Nash’s works on paper, presenting the subjects that have captivated him for nearly five decades. Among these are his "Family Trees". From the late 1970s, Nash became conscious of the convergence of ideas while working on multiple sculptures simultaneously: sometimes the collision of two ideas would unveil yet another path. To conceptualise this progression, he developed a visual language of family trees and other relatives - a symbolic value system that reflects upon his dynamic practice. The publication offers a rare opportunity to explore the full scope of Nash’s engagement with drawing, revealing the integral role it has played in his broader artistic journey, including his early work in pastel, charcoal and watercolour, along with the more recent drawings made with raw pigment directly on paper. The works on display capture the immediacy, energy and evolution of his ideas across 45 years, providing fresh insights into the mind of an artist whose work is as much about process as it is about 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.” With new texts by Nash, and William Varley's 1982 key essay on Nash's drawing.