Sculpture Above Ground: The Roof Gardens, London

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The Roof Gardens and the Royal Society of Sculptors announce a new partnership, launching with Sculpture Above Ground, an inaugural exhibition of contemporary sculpture co-curated by Aurore Ankarcrona Hennessey and Nick Hornby

Bringing together artists from the Royal Society of Sculptors, the exhibition unfolds across two distinct London sites: the Woodland Gardens at The Roof Gardens, and the terrace at Dora House, the Royal Society of Sculptors’ historic home in South Kensington. Installed across contrasting architectural and social settings, the exhibition considers how sculpture is encountered differently in spaces of leisure,display, and contemplation.

At The Roof Gardens, works exist on a fictional ground: a constructed landscape of soil and planting suspended above the city, where even mature trees take root. This condition reframes sculpture’s traditional relationship to gravity and site. At Dora House, a single work is positioned at ground level on the terrace, rooted in public space while its mirror-polished surface reflects the sky. Together, the two settings establish a dialogue between the constructed and the grounded.

The curatorial premise arises from a line in Joseph Stein’s The Fiddler on the Roof: “A bird may love a fish, but where would they live?” A question of coexistence across difference, it frames the exhibition’s exploration of figuration and abstraction as two enduring sculptural languages. Through a range of contemporary approaches, the exhibition invites audiences to consider how form can be recognisable or elusive, direct or ambiguous, and how sculpture can shape our experience of space.

Highlights of the exhibition include large-scale works by Richard Hudson and Emily Young, a major display of portrait busts by Nicole Farhi, and a restaging of a significant work by Michael Petry, originally conceived for the Palm Springs Art Museum. Additional artists include Laura Ford, President of the Royal Society of Sculptors, alongside Sarah Pager, Andrew Sabin, and Richard Stone, with William Braithwaite, recently included in the 2026 New Contemporaries. Several works will be presented publicly for the first time and all works will be available for sale.

At The Roof Gardens, works are situated among pathways, planting, and water, creating a journey through the space for members and guests. At Dora House, the presentation extends the exhibition’s themes into a second setting open to the public. Together, the two venues establish a dialogue between site and sculpture across London.

A programme of talks and events with participating artists will accompany the exhibition throughout the summer.

Marking the beginning of an ongoing collaboration between The Roof Gardens and the Royal Society of Sculptors, Sculpture Above Ground establishes a new platform for contemporary sculpture in one of London’s most distinctive settings.

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Exhibition Dates: 22 May – 18 October 2026

Opening Event: Thursday 21 May 2026

Location: The Roof Gardens, Kensington High Street, London

Access via private members’ club; entry subject to venue access policies.

Sales Enquiries

All artworks in the exhibition are available for purchase.

The Roof Gardens exhibition: aurore.hennessey@theroofgarden