Cass Sculpture Foundation hotels in Fareham, United Kingdom

The Cass Sculpture Foundation is a charitable body and incredible sculpture park in Goodwood. The Foundation is funded by sales of the commissioned sculptures, with all proceeds going to the artists. It was conceived in 1992 by Wilfred and Jeanette Cass after they were inspired by visiting other sculpture parks such as the Kröller- Müller in the Netherlands and Hakone in Japan. To date over 400 amazing contemporary sculptures have been commissioned and displayed in the park. At any one time, over 80 sculptures are on display in the 26-acre grounds for the public to wander amongst and purchase and it's open between March and November from 10.30am to 4.30pm.

Foundation Commissions

The Foundation has previously commissioned a range of monumental sculptures from artists both emerging and well established including Anthony Caro, Rachel Whiteread and Marc Quinn. Anthony Caro's style was abstract and modernist and based on metal industrial objects that he came across. The Cass Sculpture Foundation commissioned Caro to make a huge, concrete book based on his previous work. Rachel Whiteread's piece for the Cass Sculpture Foundation mimicked her 'Untitled Monument' that was commissioned for the fourth plinth in London's Trafalgar square. Marc Quinn's commission, 'The Overwhelming World of Desire' was a photographic image of an orchid, transferred onto a 12m-high steel framework.

Foundation Ethos

The monumental sculptures at the Cass Sculpture Foundation are ever changing and always inspiring. If you want to see or perhaps even purchase hydraulic machines, two bananas cast in aluminium and standing over three metres high, or a stainless steel sketch of a blue whale that's over 23 metres long then head down to Goodwood. The sculptures don't stand around forever, however: they're either bought, shipped abroad or changed every year or so. This is deliberate, the intention being not only to make way for new works, but to reflect the Cass's desire to emphasise the transitory nature of both art and existence. If you're staying in a hotel in West Sussex and like a taste of the unusual, then make sure the Cass Sculpture Foundation is at the top of your must visit list.