A Glorious Sham
Artist Opening Event
Join us for the unveiling of a new sculpture by Catriona Robertson, inspired by the hidden histories and layered landscapes of West Horsley Place.
We are delighted to invite you to the opening of a new sculptural commission by Catriona Robertson, created in response to the layered histories and landscapes of West Horsley Place.
Robertson’s work explores the idea of the façade, drawing inspiration from the 17th-century red brick wall constructed to conceal an older timber framed manor house. The title A Glorious Sham takes inspiration from Bamber Gascoigne’s playful description of the red brick facade at West Horsley Place, which conceals the older timber-framed manor house behind it. The sculpture reimagines fragments of the site’s architecture as a future remnant: a free-standing portal embedded within the landscape, where past, present, and speculative futures converge. Layered strata within the sculpture evokes geological time, tracing the site’s histories while imagining future sedimentary layers shaped by human activity and environmental change.
Influenced by the surrounding gardens, lichens and plant life, the sculpture incorporates vivid colours suggestive of both natural growth and synthetic contamination. At a moment of increasing ecological awareness, Robertson’s sculpture reflects on biodiversity, regeneration and the urgent question of how we might become good ancestors for the future.
Join us to celebrate the unveiling of this new commission.
About Catriona Robertson
Catriona Robertson is a Scottish artist based in London and a 2019 MA Sculpture graduate from the Royal College of Art. Her recent projects include an immersive garden commission for the Chelsea Flower Show with David Green Gardens, exploring future urban ecologies and rewilding. Robertson won the Gilbert Bayes Award in 2022 and has exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery and The Art House.
Access Information
This event takes place outdoors at the sculpture site.
From the car park, there is an approximately 650m walk along a hard-standing bridleway. The surface is uneven in places and may feel bumpy for wheelchair users and pushchairs.
The sculpture is on a grassy area, just off the bridal way.
You are welcome to bring a blanket or portable outdoor chair for your comfort.
For more information about access, visit our access page.
