“I’ve seen so much good artwork looking abandoned and uncomfortable in sanitised, white galleries,” says Richard, “I decided to redress the balance and create a gallery space that celebrates materials and craftsmanship in all its guises.”
Welcome to Talos
THE GALLERY
Set within the Wiltshire home of Gallery and Talos Foundry owner Richard Atkinson-Willes, Talos exhibits a wide range of contemporary sculptures and paintings in the rustic beauty of restored buildings, surrounded by a nestled rolling hills of the Wiltshire countryside. Each year we open our doors to showcase internationally acclaimed artists in our Summer Exhibition.
THE BUILDINGS
Originally part of the Bowood House Estate, the renovation of the old diary barns involved sensitive painstaking removal of layers of concrete, brick and dung to reveal the buildings original features. Having stripped back to reveal cobbled floors, original elm trusses and antique joinery many of these original features have been retained. Richard then hand carved additional struts, doors and windows in situ from locally sourced materials. The results are a stunning natural space that acts as both a backdrop and flowing layout to showcase and allow visitors to get up close to the art.
THE GARDENS
Our garden has been laid out and planted to combine nature and art as a whole experience, with each showing off the other to its best effect. Nature has, of course, taken this as a challenge and each year seems intent upon upstaging the artwork that we place in it, but that’s a conflict we are happy to encourage: despite the indignant, aesthetic stand-off occurring around them, few of the visitors who sit in our courtyard café among the wildflowers show much concern over who’s winning.
THE FOUNDRY
Our sister site is The Talos Foundry which has cast the work of established sculptors for decades, producing exceptional bronze sculptures that become part of private, national and international collections. Richard decided to open the Talos Gallery and offer people the unique opportunity to take in these works of art, before they’re sent away.
Many exhibits in the gallery will be accompanied by their own moulds, working drawings and photographs of the creative processes behind them. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the ancient history of the ‘lost wax’ casting method, which is still used to cast sculptures at the foundry today.
“Beneath several layers of concrete, I suddenly found ancient, cobbled floors and post holes for centuries old cow byres. To give you an idea of the scale of this ‘spring clean’, we removed nearly a metre of rubble from the old cart shed to return the floor to its original level”.
Meet Richard
Richard’s appreciation of work led by materials and process was forged during his time training at Central St Martins, where his interest in the versatility of pure materials continued to grow.
A talented sculptor, Richard has curated large exhibitions and shown his own pieces in London and Hampshire. The ingenuity and simplicity of ancient bronze casting methods captivated him, as did the enduring beauty of bronze sculptures.
Richard is director of the Talos Art Foundry and has created the Talos Gallery to showcase the work of the foundry and its artists.
Our Foundry
In 1988, Richard co-founded Project Workshops, an Andover-based collective of artists’ studios and workshops. The foundry was the first to take up residency, remaining there ever since.
The foundry started out using a makeshift furnace in an old farm building. Soon, traditional bronze casting methods were being used to turn raw metal into exquisite sculptures. In 2009, the new foundry building reached completion. It features smart, purpose-built facilities, able to cast bronze sculptures for over seventy artists. As the international client list grows, it’s time to open Talos Gallery and share the foundry’s magnificent work with everyone.
THE PROCESS OF BRONZE CASTING
Talos Art Foundry has produced bronze sculptures using processes largely unchanged since the Bronze Age, the roots of which are Middle Eastern, tracing back to roughly 4000BC. Bronze sculptures are created using the ‘lost wax’ process, which is believed to have been developed by the ancient Egyptians in around 2500BC. The method involves creating a wax sculpture and coating it in clay. The clay is then fired to make it hard, causing the wax to flow out of the mould. This leaves a hollow, into which bronze can be poured. After this, the sculpture is fettled, chased and burnished.
