Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy OBE (born 26 July 1956) is a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist who produces site-specific sculptures and land art situated in natural and urban settings. He lives and works in Scotland.

Andy Goldsworthy OBE
Andy Goldsworthy in 2005
Born	(1956-07-25) 25 July 1956 Cheshire, England
Nationality	British
Education	Bradford College of Art (1974–1975); Preston Polytechnic (now University of Central Lancashire) (1975–1978)
Known for	Sculpture; photography
Movement	Environmental art and land art
Awards	Scottish Arts Council Award (1987); honorary degree from the University of Bradford (1993); OBE (2000)

Early life

The son of F. Allin Goldsworthy (1929–2001), former professor of applied mathematics at the University of Leeds. England, and Muriel (Stanger) Goldsworthy, Andy Goldsworthy was born in Cheshire, England in 1956.[1][2] He grew up on the Harrogate side of Leeds, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. From the age of 13 he worked on farms as a labourer. He has likened the repetitive quality of farm tasks to the routine of making sculpture: "A lot of my work is like picking potatoes; you have to get into the rhythm of it."[3]

Goldsworthy studied fine art at Bradford College of Art (1974–75) and at Preston Polytechnic (1975–78)[1] (now the University of Central Lancashire) in Preston, Lancashire, receiving his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from the latter.[4]

Career

History

Sculpture in National Museum of Scotland by Andy Goldsworthy.

After leaving college, Goldsworthy lived in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria.[5] In 1985, he moved to Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and a year later to Penpont. It has been said that his gradual drift northwards was "due to a way of life over which he did not have complete control", but that contributing factors were opportunities and desires to work in these areas and "reasons of economy".[5]

In 1993, he received an honorary degree from the University of Bradford. He was an A.D. White Professor-At-Large in Sculpture at Cornell University 2000–2006 and 2006–2008.[6]

Goldsworthy is represented by Galerie Lelong, New York and Paris.

An example of art work

In 2003,[7] Goldsworthy produced a commissioned work for the entry courtyard of San Francisco's de Young Museum called "Drawn Stone", which echoes San Francisco's frequent earthquakes and their effects. His installation included a giant crack in the pavement that broke off into smaller cracks, and broken limestone, which could be used for benches. The smaller cracks were made with a hammer adding unpredictability to the work as he created it.[8]

Art process

The materials used in Andy Goldsworthy's art often include brightly coloured flowers, icicles, leaves, mud, pinecones, snow, stone, twigs, and thorns. He has been quoted as saying, "I think it's incredibly brave to be working with flowers and leaves and petals. But I have to: I can't edit the materials I work with. My remit is to work with nature as a whole."[9] Goldsworthy is generally considered the founder of modern rock balancing. For his ephemeral works, Goldsworthy often uses only his bare hands, teeth, and found tools to prepare and arrange the materials; however, for his permanent sculptures like "Roof", "Stone River" and "Three Cairns", "Moonlit Path" (Petworth, West Sussex, 2002) and "Chalk Stones" in the South Downs, near West Dean, West Sussex he has also employed the use of machine tools. To create "Roof", Goldsworthy worked with his assistant and five British dry-stone wallers, who were used to make sure the structure could withstand time and nature.

Photography

Photography plays a crucial role in his art due to its often ephemeral and transient state. According to Goldsworthy, "Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit."[10]

Documentary films on Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy is the subject of a 2001 documentary feature film called Rivers and Tides, directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer.[11] In 2018, Riedelsheimer released a second documentary on Goldsworthy, Leaning Into the Wind.[12]

Personal life

In 1982, Goldsworthy married Judith Gregson. They had four children and settled in the village of Penpont in the region of Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfriesshire, in southwest Scotland. The couple later separated. He now lives there with his partner, Tina Fiske, an art historian whom he met when she came to work with him a few years after he separated from his wife.[3]

Awards

• 1979 – North West Arts Award
• 1980 – Yorkshire Arts Award
• 1981 – Northern Arts Award
• 1982 – Northern Arts Award
• 1986 – Northern Arts Bursary
• 1987 – Scottish Arts Council Award
• 1989 – Northern Electricity Arts Award[4]
• 2000 – Appointed officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)[3]

Exhibitions and installations

Image	Dates	Title	Location
	1996–2003	Sheepfolds	Cumbria, England, UK
	1997	Stone House[13]	Herring Island, Victoria, Australia
	1997	Cairn[13]	Herring Island, Victoria, Australia
	1998	Hutton Roof	National Museum of Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
	22 May – 15 November 2000	Andy Goldsworthy at Storm King Art Center[14] (featuring the installation Storm King Wall)	Storm King Art Center Mountainville, Cornwall, New York, USA
	August 2001	Stone River[15]	Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University Stanford, California, USA
	2002	Andy Goldsworthy Arch at Goodwood[16]	Cass Sculpture Foundation Goodwood, West Sussex, England, UK
	2002	Chalk Stones Trail	South Downs near West Dean, West Sussex
	4 May – 31 October 2004	Andy Goldsworthy on the Roof[17] (featuring the installation Stone Houses)	Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof Garden New York City, USA
	2005	Andy Goldsworthy: Early Works A national touring exhibition from the Haywood Gallery[18]	England, United Kingdom
	2005	Drawn Stone[19]	M. H. de Young Memorial Museum San Francisco
	2005	Arches[20]	Gibbs Farm, New Zealand
	22 January – 15 May 2005	The Andy Goldsworthy Project[21] (including the installation Roof)[22]	National Gallery of Art National Mall, Washington, D.C., USA
	2006	Red sandstone wall at the Doerr-Hosier Center[23]	Aspen Institute Aspen, Colorado, USA
	31 March 2007 – 6 January 2008	Andy Goldsworthy[24]	Yorkshire Sculpture Park West Bretton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, UK
	October 2008	Spire[25]	Park Presidio San Francisco
	June 2009	Provence art trail[26]	Provence France
	2010-11	Wood Line[27]	Park Presidio San Francisco
	7 September 2012 – 2 November 2012	Domo de Argila / Clay Dome[28][29]	Cais do Porto Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
	2013	Earth Wall[30]	Park Presidio San Francisco
	2014	Tree Fall[31]	Park Presidio San Francisco

Publications

• Andy Goldsworthy (1985). Rain, Sun, Snow, Hail, Mist, Calm: Photoworks by Andy Goldsworthy. Leeds: Henry Moore Centre for the Study of Sculpture. ISBN 0-901981-24-9.
• Andy Goldsworthy (1988). Parkland. [Yorkshire]: Yorkshire Sculpture Park. ISBN 1-871480-00-0.
• Andy Goldsworthy (1989). Touching North. London: Fabian Carlsson. ISBN 0-948274-06-9.
• Andy Goldsworthy (1989). Leaves. London: Common Ground. ISBN 1-870364-07-4.
• Andy Goldsworth (1990). Andy Goldsworthy. London: Viking. ISBN 0-670-83213-8. Republished as Andy Goldsworthy (1990). Andy Goldsworthy : A Collaboration with Nature. New York, N.Y.: H. N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-3351-9.
• Andy Goldsworthy (1992). Ice and Snow Drawings : 1990–1992. Edinburgh: FruitMarket Gallery. ISBN 0-947912-06-1.
• Goldsworthy, Andy; Friedman, Terry (1993). Hand to Earth : Andy Goldsworthy Sculpture, 1976–1990. New York, N.Y.: H. N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-3420-5.
• Andy Goldsworthy (1994). Stone. London: Viking. ISBN 0-670-85478-6.
• text and photographs by Andy Goldsworthy (1995). Black Stones, Red Pools : Dumfriesshire Winter 1994–5. London: Pro Arte Foundation in association with Michael Hue-Williams Fine Art Ltd. & Galerie Lelong, N.Y. ISBN 0-9525457-0-5.
• Goldsworthy, Andy; Chettle, Steve; Nesbitt, Paul; Humphries, Andrew (1996). Sheepfolds. London: Michael Hue-Williams Fine Art Ltd.
• Andy Goldsworthy ; introduction by Terry Friedman (1996). Wood. London: Viking. ISBN 0-670-87137-0.
• Goldsworthy, Andy; Craig, David (1999). Arch. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01933-9.
• Andy Goldsworthy. Chronology by Terry Friedman (2000). Time. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-51026-1.
• Goldsworthy, Andy; Thompson, Jerry L.; Storm King Art Center (2000). Wall at Storm King. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01991-6.
• Andy Goldsworthy. Introduction by Judith Collins. (2001). Midsummer Snowballs. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-51065-2.
• Andy Goldsworthy (2002). Andy Goldsworthy : Refuges D'Art. Lyon; Digne, France: Editions Artha; Musée départemental de Digne. ISBN 2-84845-001-0.
• Andy Goldsworthy (2004). Passage. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-51191-8.
• Andy Goldsworthy (2007). Enclosure. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-09336-9.
• Goldsworthy, Andy (2015). Andy Goldsworthy: Ephemeral Works: 2004–2014. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-1419717796.

See also

• Environmental art
• Environmental sculpture
• Greenmuseum.org
• Land art
• Rock balancing

Notes

1. Stonard, John Paul (10 December 2000). "Goldsworthy, Andy". Grove Art Online. Retrieved on 15 May 2007.
2. "Andy Goldsworthy Biography". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
3. Adams, Tim (11 March 2007). "Natural talent". The Observer. London.
4. "Andy Goldsworthy (British, 1956)". artnet. Archived from the original on 4 February 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
5. "Andy Goldsworthy". Cass Sculpture Foundation. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
6. "All Professors at Large 1965 to June 30, 2021". Andrew D. White Professors-at-Large. Cornell University. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
7. de Young museum > Andy Goldsworthy: "Drawn Stone," 2005
8. Douglas, Sarah (24 October 2005). "In Their Words: James Turrell and Andy Goldsworthy". ARTINFO. Retrieved 16 April 2008. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
9. Sooke, Alastair (24 March 2007). "He's got the whole world in his hands". The Daily Telegraph. London.
10. "Andy Goldsworthy: Art of nature". ninemsn. 19 February 2006. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2007.
11. Rivers and Tides on IMDb. Retrieved on 31 January 2008.
12. http://www.leaningintothewind.com/
13. "Artworks of Herring Island Environmental Sculpture Park". Herring Island. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
14. "Andy Goldsworthy at Storm King Art Center". Storm King Art Center. 2000. Archived from the original on 29 September 2000. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
15. "Andy Goldsworthy sculpture, Stone River, enters Stanford University's outdoor art collection". Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University. 4 September 2001. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
16. "Andy Goldsworthy: Arch at Goodwood, 2002". Cass Sculpture Foundation. Archived from the original on 4 February 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
17. "Andy Goldsworthy on the Roof". Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2004. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
18. "Andy Goldsworthy : Early Works : Leaves, Twigs, Enormous Snowballs and Icicles... Andy Goldworthy's Sculptures are Inherently Surprising and Beautiful". bbc.co.uk. 4 May 2005. "Andy Goldsworthy : Nature and Art Combine when the Early Works of the Internationally Renowned Artist Andy Goldsworthy come to Fairfields Art Centre in Basingstoke". bbc.co.uk. 20 September 2005.
19. "Drawn Stone, on the website of Galerie Lelong, New York City". Archived from the original on 27 January 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
20. "Andy Goldsworthy, Arches - Gibbs Farm". www.gibbsfarm.org.nz. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
21. "The Andy Goldsworthy Project : 22 January – 15 May 2005". National Gallery of Art. 2005. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
22. "Andy Goldsworthy : Roof". National Gallery of Art. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
23. Oksenhorn, Stewart (23 September 2006). "A Wall of Integration, Not Division". Aspen Times Weekly. Archived from the original on 30 August 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2006.
24. Calton, Gary (photographer) (11 March 2007). "Andy Goldsworthy at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2007. "Andy Goldsworthy". Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Archived from the original on 18 June 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
25. "Spire, by Andy Goldsworthy". The Presidio Trust. 2009. Archived from the original on 12 May 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
26. "Provence art trail, by Andy Goldsworthy". The Guardian. London. 19 June 2009. Archived from the original on 23 July 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
27. "Andy Goldsworthy's Wood Line". The Presidio Trust. 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
28. "OiR Final release" (PDF). Oi Futuro Public Art Program. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
29. "Andy Goldsworthy – Domo de Argila Legendado – YouTube". Oi Futuro Public Art Program. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
30. "Andy Goldsworthy's Tree Fall". The Presidio Trust. 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
31. "Andy Goldsworthy's Earth Wall". The Presidio Trust. 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2020.

References

• Adams, Tim (11 March 2007). "Natural talent". The Observer. London.
• Biography of Andy Goldsworthy at the Cass Sculpture Foundation
• Biography of Andy Goldsworthy at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
• Sooke, Alastair (24 March 2007). "He's got the whole world in his hands". The Daily Telegraph. London.

Further information

Articles:

• Beyst, Stefan (June 2002). "Andy Goldsworthy: The beauty of creation". Archived from the original on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
• Moore, Robbie. "Goldsworthy in stone". Specifier Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 September 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.

Books:

• Malpas, William (1995). Andy Goldsworthy: Touching Nature. Kidderminster: Crescent Moon. ISBN 1-86171-049-6.
• Malpas, William (1998). The Art of Andy Goldsworthy. Kidderminster: Crescent Moon. ISBN 1-86171-032-1.
• Malpas, William (2003). Andy Goldsworthy in Close-Up. Maidstone, Kent: Crescent Moon. ISBN 1-86171-050-X.
• Malpas, William (2008). Andy Goldsworthy: Pocket Guide. Maidstone, Kent: Crescent Moon. ISBN 978-1-86171-241-7.

Film/Documentary

• Rivers and Tides (2001) documentary by Thomas Riedelsheimer
• Leaning into the Wind (2017) documentary by Thomas Riedelsheimer (Leaning into the Wind official Web site)

External links

General:

• Andy Goldsworthy at the Cass Sculpture Foundation
• Andy Goldsworthy at artnet
• Andy Goldsworthy's 1980s work with Common Ground, a UK charity and lobby group promoting local distinctiveness
• Andy Goldsworthy working on Drawn Stone on KQED's TV programme Spark (June 2005)
• Andy Goldsworthy on Artcyclopedia

Art:

• Online preview of the Andy Goldsworthy Digital Catalogue DVD Volume 1: 1976–1986. A collaborative effort involving Goldsworthy, The Crichton Foundation, and the University of Glasgow's Crichton Campus and Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (HATII). The DVD documents, visually and textually, the first ten years of Goldsworthy's ephemeral outdoor practice. It replicates Goldsworthy's "Slide Cabinet Index", and includes previously unpublished material from "Goldsworthy's Sketchbook Diaries".
• "Wet feathers/Wrapped around a stone/Before the incoming tide, Carrick" (1999). Photograph from the collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
• "Snowballs in Summer" (2000), photographed in Charterhouse Square and Smithfield Market in Smithfield, London, UK. Photographs from the Conway Collection, Courtauld Institute of Art, London.
• "Three Cairns" (2002), Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, US.
• Photographs by Andy Goldsworthy in the UK Government Art Collection.
• Photographs of Andy Goldsworthy's sculptures at Flickr
• Andy Goldsworthy's Portfolio at the Cass Sculpture Foundation
• SaveLandArt.org – Media Initiatives to Protect Land Art from Urbanization, Industry and Overcuration.