SCULPTOR Nicolas Moreton has been crafting his skills for more than 35 years, in the process earning himself a fine reputation for his individualistic art.
His work is sensual, intimate and in many ways quite wondrous – a true labour of love. See it and you will be drawn into its magic like a magnet.
As Tim Marlow, art critic and chief executive of the Design Museum in London, says: ‘Nicolas Moreton is a modern master of the medium of stone carving.’
Moreton, now in his early 60’s, has just spent a week exhibiting some of his works at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, attracting a mix of admiring comments, possible sales, and new commissions from visitors. He is hopeful that in time the cost of showing his work at the event will prove productive.
‘It’s a hard slog,’ says Moreton, ‘from transporting the sculptures to Chelsea, setting up, spending six days on your feet talking to visitors, and then having to deconstruct the exhibition at the end. But I love it. I wouldn’t change a thing, and it’s heartening to hear so many kind comments, especially from those people who have never viewed my work before.’
Moreton, a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors, is wonderfully idiosyncratic, both in his art and personally. Come rain (lots of it at RHS Chelsea 2024), or occasional shine, he is usually to be found in shorts, a flowery shirt and hat.
As a result, he cuts a somewhat eccentric figure – a bit like Bill or Ben out of the Flower Pot Men – but it doesn’t take long upon meeting him to realise that he is a master of his art.
He is also witty and fun to be with, full of amusing anecdotes – one involving the need to quickly shift a plant to hide the genitalia of a sculpture of a naked man when the late Duke of Edinburgh came to talk to him at an earlier RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
‘Despite the tree, the Duke couldn’t fail to notice what a big chap the male sculpture was,’ say Moreton. ‘He was so convivial and a joy to chat to.’
What’s obvious is that Moreton is in love with his work and is never happier than when he in his Northamptonshire workshop, creating another piece of scintillating work.
The sculptures he exhibited at RHS Chelsea this year demonstrated the sensitivity, diversity, and personal nature of his work. Lots of curves and clever use of light (and harking back to the Duke, the odd sculpted breasts and penis).
For example, Catherine Wheel, made from Ancaster Weatherbed limestone, is based on the fireworks that his father used to light on Bonfire’s Night when he was a child.
‘Dad would flick the Catherine Wheel firework when it stopped spinning,’ he says. ‘Probably not a sensible thing to do with the benefit of hindsight, but it remains a vivid childhood memory.’ The result is a stunning work of art that oozes kineticism – with LEDs lighting it at night.
Exotic Fruit, his latest work, is a towering triumph – bronze fruit, encased in Portuguese limestone. Again, LED lighting is employed to provide the sculpture with a halo effect at night.
Fistral, a circular creation, captures the stormy seas that he and his family encountered late last year when visiting the beach of the same name in Newquay, Cornwall. The stone’s spirals represent the sea swirling in a rock pool while chisel marks reflect the white water created by the crashing of mountainous waves.
‘I loved the swirl of the water,’ says Morton. ‘Fistral is made from Portuguese marble.’ Moreton gets it shipped over and despite the transportation costs, it’s cheaper than what is available in the UK.
In the same vein is Rinsey Waves, based on his interpretation of the tidal sea pool next to Rinsey Cove on Cornwall’s south coast. Like Fistral, the swirling water of Rinsey Waves is beautifully reflected in the circular Portuguese marble.
Seed, hollowed out stone, is among one of his more popular works, infused with a halogen light.
The late art critic Brian Sewell once wrote of Moreton: ‘He sees within the quarried block the imagining of his mind’s eye, when to the rest of us the inert stone might as well be a mere doorstop.’
Sewell was spot on. Moreton thrillingly brings stone to life. He makes stone sexy and sensual.
Thanks for this article, it really brings home how dedicated and passionate Nicolas is in this unique field of work