Draped Reclining Mother and Baby, 1983. © Caroline Lewis / 24 Hour Museum

Caroline Lewis goes in search of relief from the heavy blocks of our built environment - and finds it in the sculptures of Henry Moore currently residng at Kew Gardens.

Kew is being the perfect host over the next few months to a crowd of modernist sculptures by one of England’s best known sculptors of the 20th century, Henry Moore.

It’s an ideal setting for the works, which were intended to be shown outdoors, and need walking around to discover their ins and outs – the changing aspects that Moore deliberately worked in to the abstract shapes and figures. What’s more, sunshine imbues the bronzes and green coppers with rich glossy surfaces, and dark weather increases the drama of the forms.

The sculptures are all scattered in the area close to the Main Gate and the Victoria Gate. Perhaps the only shame this entails is that you won’t stumble upon any as you stroll in the Bamboo Garden, or wander among the tall specimens in the Pinetum at the other end of Kew. On the plus side, if you’re only interested in the Moores, you don’t have too much legwork to do in order to see them all.

Draped Reclining Woman, 1957-58, with the Palm House in the back. © Caroline Lewis / 24 Hour Museum

And they are thoughtfully positioned – for example the tall shape of the Large Upright Internal/External (1981-82) on the path to the Pagoda echoes the cylindrical building rising from the ground in the distance; the Draped Reclining Woman (1957-58) matches the long, arched shapes of the Palm House behind it.

There are several recurrent types of Moore sculpture among those on show at Kew: his trademark reclining figures, columnular totemic forms and interlocking or composite abstract shapes. The reclining figures look most at home dotted around the Gardens’ lush lawns, but the abstract shapes draw much attention, with children keen to climb in them as if that’s what they were designed for.

And perhaps they were. A short film about Moore, shown in the Prince of Wales Conservatory, has the artist recounting his joy at seeing lambs frolic around one of his sculptures on the grass outside.

Large Totem Head, 1968. © Caroline Lewis / 24 Hour Museum

For inspiration, even in his 80s, he would travel out every day into the countryside. No surprise, then, that his forms are described as organic – there is little that could be said to be aggressive or industrial about these sculptures, despite their monumental size and stylised interpretations of figures. His work is also described as humanist, though the odd shapes and strange faces are often more ‘alien’ in their appearance, if we’re honest.

Indeed, it doesn’t seem that Moore was making a statement with his sculptures, but striving to produce satisfying, enjoyable works of art – art that sits happily in unspoilt natural environments, and provides relief from the heavy blocks of our built environment.

Upright Motive No.8 (1955) is one such piece that Moore created as a counterfoil to the horizontal rhythm of architecture, after noting how a tree growing in a courtyard had this effect.

Large Reclining Figure, 1984. © Caroline Lewis / 24 Hour Museum

The other Upright Motives on show pay testament to one of Moore’s earliest influences – the ethnographic art he encountered in the British Museum. The reclining figures, too, had their roots in a Mayan sculpture Moore admired.

Others certainly take something from natural objects like seedpods, for example the Large Totem Head (1968), which reveals its divided core as you come round from the Woodland Garden. Moore collected natural objects ranging from skulls to driftwood at his Much Hadham home, Hoglands, and used them for ideas. Oval with Points (1968-70), with is air of tension formed by the division of a void, was inspired by an elephant skull.

Detail of Reclining Figure, 1982. © Caroline Lewis / 24 Hour Museum

Moore’s sculptures tend to be asymmetrical and pierced in some way, to create a mystery about them – some look rather plain from one side, but reveal smooth caverns and shining curved frames from another. Large Two Forms (1966) is one such – a sea green, bulbous piece that is an arch from one direction, a super-sized handle shape from another.

The same goes for some of the reclining figures. Two Piece Reclining Figure: Cut (1979-81) is more of a Loch Ness Monster from one direction; Three Piece Reclining Figure: Draped (1975) has a definite rabbit head jutting out of it if you approach from its back.

All these interesting shapes are ripe for some creative photography. If you’re proud of your shots after you visit, you can submit them to Kew’s online gallery. Go to www.kew.org/henrymoore to do so and find out more about Moore.