Citing Neolithic carvings, Celtic and Gaelic mythology, and prehistoric stone circles as touchstones, Nicholas Devlin looks to the mysterious landscapes of the British Isles for inspiration for his surrealistic sculptures in clay, plaster, and other materials. With The Alchemist’s Folly, 2024, his intention is to transport the viewer to a fantastical realm where the mundane becomes magical. “It’s meant to be a sculptural respite,” he says.
During the six months it took the Canada-born artist to create the massive sculpture, it skimmed the walls and ceiling of the Brooklyn brownstone where he lives and works. Commissioned by interior designer Harry Heissmann as a giant inhabitable strawberry, the 8-by-8-by-8-foot reinforced plaster, steel, wood, epoxy, and fiberglass gazebo looks more like a meringue or sand dune than the red fruit. Seven twisted columns connect at the top, surrounding a wispy bench-and-table set; a light sits at the crown where the columns meet.
“It felt important to make sure you could spend time inside it even at night,” Devlin says. “I like this sort of central glow it adds to the piece.”
At the heart of the gazebo, the back of the bench crests like a wave. “Ultimately, I wanted the piece to evoke a sense of fantasy,” says Devlin, “with layers of the bench and table peeling up and floating away, as if they were dematerializing.”
Shivaun Watchorn is associate editor of American Craft.
