YSP’s autumnal landscape provides the perfect backdrop for visitors to see several inspiring artworks set within 500 acres of historic parkland, woodland and lakes. YSP is a jewel in the Yorkshire landscape. Offering an inspiring day out for nature lovers, art aficionados and walkers alike – it’s the perfect destination to come together and experience the best of international art.

Nestled a short walk from Lower Lake, Pittu pithu pitoo (2022) by Simeon Barclay depicts a cockerel resting on a stone-like formation. The sculpture’s form and title relate to an ancient traditional Indian game played by the artist in his youth. Played by two teams, it involves a pile of seven precariously assembled stones and a ball. The artist reflects that these clusters or layers not only represent the sediment that forms our environment, but also references the way that humans accumulate knowledge.

Installed close to important works by pioneering Yorkshire artists Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, Pittu pithu pitoo acknowledges these sculptors, who were also inspired by YSP’s breathtaking landscape. Prior to joining over 90 outdoor sculptures at YSP, Pittu pithu pitoo was on display in the City of London. Its new home, surrounded by veteran trees on the historic Bretton Estate, gives it a new sense of scale and importance.

Simeon Barclay said: “I am a product of my environment. As a maker, born and invested in developing my practice in the region, I have come to acknowledge that my work acts as a language to suggest the many facets of that experience. The opportunity now to broaden that conversation both locally and globally within one of the country’s most significant institutions provides an immensely exciting prospect”.

Pittu pithu pitoo was commissioned by South London Gallery for the solo exhibition In the name of the father (2022). Courtesy of the artist and Workplace, UK.

A much-loved pitstop for many YSP visitors, the Greek Temple, which was constructed in the early 19th century, is an important reminder of the Park’s history as a pleasure ground. Perched on a nearby plinth stands Untitled (David) (2023) by British artist Matthew Darbyshire. Many will recognise its reference to Michelangelo’s David, the famous Renaissance sculpture.

Combining traditional sculptural carving and casting techniques with 3D digital processes, the artist describes his approach as ‘life drawing in three dimensions’. Manually sketching the contours of the original David onto hundreds of layers of polystyrene, he then cuts them out and stacks them up, much in the mechanical manner of a 3D printer, only this time celebrating human expression, error, and inevitable glitches.

He invites us to recognise the images he uses, referring to them as deliberate clichés and hopes we can then move on quickly to comprehend the formal aspects of form, facet, movement, material, and manufacture. He is interested in what is lost and what is gained when something is copied repeatedly, using his new rendition to retaliate against its forebear with new technologies and resultant topologies, both deliberate and accidental.

Matthew Darbyshire said: “I’m delighted to have Untitled (David) displayed at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I’ve always wanted to present something in their wonderful landscape and alongside so many of my favourite artists … and it couldn’t be more fitting to put him right next to their fabulous folly!”.

Courtesy of the artist and Herald St, London.

All power to all people (bronze) (2023) by renowned American artist Hank Willis Thomas is on display at the Bothy Triangle. Angled into the ground, the Afro pick features the Black Power salute which grew out of the 1960s civil rights movement. The ‘Black fist’ first appeared on Afro combs in the 1970s when many Black people began to wear them in their Afros to express cultural pride and identity.

Made from patina bronze, the sculpture stands over 8 feet tall and weighs nearly 800 pounds (approximately 363kg). By enlarging the pick to a monumental size, Thomas prompts us to consider its broader political and cultural significance. The sculpture also highlights the lack of commemorative statues featuring the lives of Black people, or that address equality and belonging. Thomas invites us to reflect on the efforts of those before us and the work that still needs to be done in the fight for social justice.

Hank Willis Thomas said: “All power to all people (bronze) bridges history and the present, representing adornment, political identity, and community. My goal is to highlight the beauty, solidarity, perseverance and resistance to all forms of oppression, embodied in this cultural object. Previously on view at Frieze London in 2023 and Glastonbury Festival in 2024, I am excited for audiences to engage with this work at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, offering yet another context and to continue sharing its message of love and resilience”.

All power to all people (bronze) was recently on view at Glastonbury Festival in 2024 as part of the new public art programme Level ground.

Courtesy of the artist, Goodman Gallery and Pace Gallery.

Working with sculpture, installation and painting, contemporary artist Marc Quinn explores the relationship between art, nature, science, the human body and the perception of beauty. Desire, love, the internet, society and the climate emergency are all key themes he frequently revisits.

Recently conserved and relocated outside The Weston, the striking artwork is part of Quinn’s Flower sculpture series. Rendered in painted bronze, Wilder shores of desire (2011) takes the form of a large orchid, a symbol long associated with love, fertility and purity. These works explore the concept of idealised natural beauty and aspirations for perfection, often obtained through genetic modification or manipulation.

Fittingly, the work is on display a short walk from the man- made lakes surrounded by imported plants and trees, which make up the historic landscape at YSP, conceived as a pleasure ground in the 18th century.

Marc Quinn said “I love the irony of taking a delicate natural object – the Vanda orchid – recreating it in industrial materials and then putting it back into nature, in a landscape it would never naturally exist in. It’s a privilege to have Wilder Shores of Desire in this beautiful Yorkshire landscape at Yorkshire Sculpture Park”.

Courtesy of the artist and private collection.