Fernando Casasempere is presenting a new work titled Fusion at this year’s edition of Beyond Limits, the selling exhibition of modern and contemporary sculpture organised by Sotheby’s and hosted by the Duke of Devonshire on the beautiful grounds of Chatsworth House.

Fusion represents the artist’s direct response to the environment at Chatsworth. The title refers to the use of Chilean Blue, a mineral residue which is mixed with indigenous British porcelain clay to produce the sensational blue veining that animates each of the individual tiles. The resulting sculpture is therefore a fusion of two countries and two continents. Reminiscent of blue and white Chinese porcelain, which is well represented in the collection at Chatsworth, Fusion appears delicate in texture but is in fact incredibly hardened and tough. Casasempere’s work calls into question the relationship between art and the environment, indeed the earth from which it is manufactured. Although Fusion is entirely abstract, its undulating surface could be read topographically, almost as a document of the landscape in which the sculpture is installed. In contrast, its architectonic quality is evocative of the built environment; the crystalline, brick-like tiles from which the surface is composed recall the faceted exteriors characteristic of Frank Gehry’s architecture.

The exhibition is open between Tuesday 9 September and Sunday 2 November 2008.

The Garden at Chatsworth is open between 11.00am to 6.00pm, last admission 5.00pm.

Chatsworth, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1PP

For further information please click here