Outdoor sculpture exhibition by Turner Prize-shortlisted Nathan Coley will light up Sussex this spring

An outdoor sculpture exhibition by Turner Prize-shortlisted Nathan Coley will light up Sussex this spring
Tentative Words Image Keith HunterTentative Words Image Keith Hunter
Tentative Words Image Keith Hunter

Spokeswoman Nicola Jeffs said: “Six large-scale outdoor light sculptures by contemporary British artist Nathan Coley will appear at selected locations in and around the Lewes region in Sussex this spring as part of Tentative Words Change Everything.

“The new outdoor exhibition features some of the artist's most important works, sited in some of the county’s most spectacular vistas. The exhibition takes place from April 2- August 29 2022.

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“Coley's evocative text-based sculptures have illuminated rural and urban landscapes across the globe, using ‘found writing’ from the world around us to create a fresh sense of place and wonder.

“Now, in collaboration with independent, business-led tourism consortium Sussex Modern – and in partnership with Lewes District Council, South Downs National Park Authority and Plumpton College – six of the artist’s most famous and memorable pieces will come together in one district, joining the dots between some of the Sussex’s most unforgettable sites and locations.

“Sculptures face out over the Channel towards France at West Beach, Newhaven, and peer over the historic town of Lewes from an ancient Norman motte. Others sit in a churchyard, a vineyard and atop a derelict modernist car park.”

Nathan Coley said: “This exhibition brings together the largest selection of my outdoor sculptures in one place and is the first time I have exhibited so many of the works in such close proximity. I’m enthralled and moved by all of the locations and how the sculptures sit together in the Sussex landscape.”

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Nathaniel Hepburn, CEO of Charleston and chairman of Sussex Modern said: "We are delighted to launch these spectacular works across Sussex. Nathan Coley's works have been exhibited in a wide range of locations over his career and we are thrilled to bring this impressive selection of sculptures to Sussex, where they will appear closer together than ever before, in a fresh dialogue with each other and with the vistas in which they appear. This new outdoor exhibition is a chance for those living in the region to uncover world class art on their doorstep, and for those visiting this summer to experience the landscape in a brand new, thought-provoking way."

Tentative Words Change Everything is funded by the UK Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund as part of a wider project to promote Sussex as a place for high-quality wine, world-class culture and breathtaking natural landscapes. It encourages visitors to plot their own route between the sculpture locations, which make up some of the region’s most diverse and surprising destinations.

Nathan Coley was born in 1967 in Glasgow, Scotland. Coley has held solo exhibitions at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne; Portsmouth Cathedral; De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill and Kunstverein Freiburg, Germany.

His work is held in important international collections including Tate, London; Scottish National Galleries, Edinburgh; Government Art Collection, London; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; Israel Museum,Jerusalem; VanAbbemuseum, Eindhoven and Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand.

In 2007 he was shortlisted for the Turner Prize.

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