Goldhawks and Garden Forks - Roger Ackling gets down to business for Down To Earth
Tags: Carol Tulloch, Dave Beech, Down To Earth, Dudley Sutton, Goldhawks, Henry Moore Institute, Juan Cruz, Lisa Le Feuvre, Penelope Curtis, Roger Ackling, Tate Britain, V&A
Roger Ackling turned up early at CHELSEA space sporting his favourite Goldhawks T-Shirt, full of energy and looking forward to installing his work.
Roger had asked that we unwrap and lay out the individual works in advance so that he could begin the process of placement and installation as soon as he arrived

Roger Ackling holding up a piece of his work, imagining its final placement within the overall installation
For Ackling, the placement of the work is an important part of his practice, taking into account the architectural setting and the relationship between individual pieces. Through this process the final installation becomes a part of the art work.
Where possible, he insists on personally placing and installing the work, making site visits and rough sketch drawings beforehand. When he eventually installs the work he refers to his sketches but uses his experience and creative intuition to resolve the final installation, often making radical changes to his original idea and always seeking to add new and unpredictable elements into the installation.
Although Roger Ackling’s practice is a contemplative and solitary affair he is highly sociable and is universally loved and respected so it was no surprise that his time installing at CHELSEA space was marked by a string of visitors including actor Dudley Sutton, artists Dave Beech and Juan Cruz, V&A curator Carol Tulloch, the Henry Moore Institute’s Lisa Le Feuvre and the Director of Tate Britain, Penelope Curtis.

The Henry Moore Institute's Director, Lisa Le Feuvre admiring Roger Ackling's Untitled (String and Pegs) 2011
The private view for Roger Ackling Down To Earth is Tuesday 21st June, 6 - 8.30pm.