Sculpturetown

Emmaus mosaic by John Piper

Crucifixion by Ruzkowski at St Paul's Harlow

The Rooks by Betty Swanwick in the Gibberd Gallery

Family Group by Henry Moore

As a result of a commission4mission meeting in Harlow I have had the opportunity to see a little of the art that is on public view in the town.

Harlow is a town designed and built after the Second World War, entirely master-planned by the late Sir Frederick Gibberd and in possession of the largest municipal collection of post-war sculpture in Britain.

Founded in 1953 by Gibberd, the Harlow Art Trust is one of Britain's leading regional arts organisations. Over the past fifty years it has built up a remarkable collection of sculptures by some of the leading names in modern and contemporary art, that attracts visitors to Harlow from all over the world.

To walk around the centre of Harlow is to experience a large-scale open-air art museum. In it you can see work by Auguste Rodin, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Ralph Brown, Lynn Chadwick, Lee Grandjean, Elizabeth Frink and many others.

The Trust also runs the Gibberd Art Gallery in Harlow, which is home to a major collection of watercolour paintings and drawing by British modern masters, including Graham Sutherland, John Piper, Elizabeth Blackadder, Prunella Clough, Betty Swanwick and others. The Gallery is also the location for a series of temporary exhibitions, some by local artists and art groups, and others by nationally and internationally-renowned artists.

The Trust continues to purchase and commission new sculpture and other works of art from new and established artists, and whenever possible sites these in publicly-accessible areas of Harlow for everyone to enjoy.

My meeting was with Martin Harris, Rector of St Paul's Harlow, and Roman Vasseur, who is the lead artist working with the partners regenerating the market quarter of Harlow. Vasseur is formulating a strategy for the integration of art into the regeneration process and the future life of the town.

His programme began with a number of contemporary art commissions in Harlow titled ‘Art and the new town’ Let us pray for those Now Residing in the Designated Area. The title came from the beginning of the dedication prayer used when Harlow was created. St Paul's Harlow (designed by Humphrys and Hurst and including the first mural by John Piper) was among the venues used by Vasseur for this programme.

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