Artist Sean Scully opens major exhibition at Houghton Hall

Irish artist Sean Scully has taken over the grounds and historic interiors of the west Norfolk mansion with his Smaller Than The Sky exhibition until October 29.

This is the largest show of the artist’s sculptures to date.

The grounds of Houghton Hall provide the setting for the exhibition (Image: Submitted)

Mr Scully said: "England, as we’ve seen from the fabulous paintings by Constable, is a country very informed by sky.

"People talk about the sky all the time. They talk about the weather, or the clouds, the wet. So, it’s a source of inspiration.

"When you put sculptures outside, you are aware that the sky is illuminating them, and conditioning how they look.

"Whatever you put out there is always humbled by the bigness of the sky."

Sean Scully's latest and biggest exhibition at Houghton is inspired by the sky (Image: Submitted)

Mr Scully established himself in New York, where he moved in the mid-1970s.

The artist currently lives and works in New York and between several European cities, including London.

He is widely celebrated for his watercolour drawings, pastels and prints, as well as for his photography.

Houghton Hall was built in the 1720s for Britain's first-ever prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole.

The grounds of Houghton Hall host the marvellous art (Image: Submitted)

Lord David Cholmondeley, the owner of Houghton Hall, said: ''As a long-time admirer of Sean Scully's work, I feel extremely proud to be able to bring this major exhibition to Houghton.

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"Scully's paintings and sculptures often evoke landscape and architecture, and will look sensational against the backdrop of the house.''

Born in Dublin, Sean Scully came to prominence primarily as a painter in the early 1970s, evolving a distinctive form of abstraction in the course of the decade (Image: Submitted)

Several new works will be included in the exhibition including stacks made of sandstone, wood, glass and marble.  

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The sculptures range in scale from small maquettes to monumental open structures in steel, such as Crate of Air, and a new Wall of Light sculpture, constructed from locally sourced limestone.

Sean Scully at Houghton Hall - Smaller Than The Sky will run until 29 October. (Image: Submitted)