An unmissable exhibition of larger-than-life sculptures – The Four Seasons by contemporary American sculptor and filmmaker Philip Haas – features at RHS Garden Wisley, near Woking in Surrey, from 9 March 2020 t0 27 June 2021.
Visitors may recognise The Four Seasons from the smaller maquettes that were displayed in Wisley’s Welcome building, as part of the inaugural exhibition in 2019. The full-size busts offer a bold new perspective and are being shown in the UK for only the second time.
Standing proud at nearly 5m tall, the figures are 3-D interpretations of paintings by 16th-century Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. The exquisitely detailed pieces imagine Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter in human form, rendered with exuberant arrangements of seasonal fruit, vegetables, flowers and crops.
Philip Haas and Matthew Pottage, Curator of RHS Garden Wisley, carefully selected locations for each sculpture in the 240-acre garden. Often sited together, the separate settings allow each piece to be individually appreciated within the landscape, while their extraordinary scale is matched by Wisley’s grand vistas.
Philip Haas explains: “I embarked upon the Four Seasons project wanting to re-contextualise Arcimboldo’s 16th-century imagery within the 21st-century physical world, through changes in scale, material and dimensionality. With the exhibition at Wisley taking place over multiple seasons, another transformation will occur to alter and enrich the viewer’s perspective – the passage of time and the play of light and weather on the sculptures.”
Visitor information
To access RHS Garden Wisley, we are asking all visitors to pre-book a time slot in advance of their visit to the garden.
Book your time slot to visit
Please note: Some areas on Seven Acres will be closed off to protect the lawns during the winter months from November 2020. The Spring and Summer sculptures which are on these lawns are still in view from the nearby paths. The Winter sculpture will have limited access through winter 2020 and spring 2021 due to the restoration of The Laboratory building. It is also visible from the nearby paths.
