Goodwood Art Foundation's Summer Programme Brings Nancy Holt, Yayoi Kusama and Lee Ufan to the Sussex Landscape

Goodwood Art Foundation has unveiled an ambitious Summer 2026 programme that brings together more than 50 works by leading international artists across its galleries and 70-acre landscape in West Sussex. Running until 1 November 2026, the season is led by the first major UK presentation dedicated to pioneering American land artist Nancy Holt, alongside significant installations and commissions by Eva Rothschild, Yayoi Kusama, Lee Ufan, Polly Apfelbaum and Hélio Oiticica.

Presented in partnership with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the programme continues the Foundation's mission to integrate contemporary art, landscape and learning within a setting designed by landscape architect Dan Pearson. Sculpture, installation, textiles, ceramics, photography, film, prints and drawings are displayed across the site's galleries, restaurant and gardens, encouraging visitors to experience art in dialogue with the natural environment.

At the heart of the summer programme is MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater, the first substantial UK exhibition devoted to Nancy Holt (1938-2014). A central figure in the land art and conceptual art movements, Holt spent more than four decades exploring the relationship between people, perception and the natural world through photography, film, poetry, installation and earthworks.

The exhibition includes photographs, drawings, concrete poetry, films and installations that illuminate the thinking behind some of her most celebrated projects, including Sun Tunnels (1978). Visitors can also experience newly realised versions of her site-responsive works, created according to the artist's original instructions in collaboration with the Holt/Smithson Foundation. Extending beyond the gallery into the surrounding landscape, these installations reinforce Holt's belief that art should deepen our awareness of place rather than remain confined within museum walls.

Among the exhibition's highlights is the first posthumous presentation of Hydra's Head (1974), an earthwork installed within the Foundation's chalk quarry. Comprising six pools of water arranged according to the Hydra constellation, the work reflects changing skies while linking celestial observation with the rhythms of the landscape.

Elsewhere, Irish artist Eva Rothschild presents a major new commission in the Pigott Gallery. Known for her sculptural practice and public commissions, Rothschild has created a large-scale tapestry woven locally at West Dean College's Tapestry Studio, continuing a long-standing collaboration with the workshop. Her exhibition also includes sculptures installed throughout the surrounding grounds, demonstrating her distinctive use of geometry, colour and material while responding directly to the landscape.

New York-based artist Polly Apfelbaum contributes a vibrant presentation of glazed ceramics and works on paper displayed throughout the Foundation's restaurant, 24. Renowned for blurring the boundaries between painting, sculpture, craft and installation, Apfelbaum explores colour, pattern and texture through works that reflect both post-war abstraction and popular culture. The presentation coincides with the artist receiving a 2026 grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation.

The outdoor programme also features one of Yayoi Kusama's instantly recognisable sculptures. Aspiring to Pumpkin's Love, the Love in My Heart (2023) introduces the Japanese artist's celebrated pumpkin motif to the South Downs landscape for the first time. The monumental bronze work continues Kusama's lifelong exploration of infinity through repetition, vivid colour and polka dots.

Nearby, South Korean artist Lee Ufan presents Relatum – She and He (2010/2026), a large-scale sculpture from his influential Relatum series. A leading figure of the Mono-ha movement, Lee combines natural stone and steel to encourage viewers to reflect on relationships between materials, space and perception. Rather than presenting sculpture as an isolated object, the work invites visitors to experience the shifting dialogue between artwork, site and observer.

Later in the season, Goodwood Art Foundation will unveil the first outdoor sculpture in Europe by Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica. Magic Square #3 (1977-79/2025), constructed according to the artist's original instructions as part of the UK/Brazil Season of Culture 2025-26, transforms colour into an immersive architectural experience through a sequence of vivid geometric planes that visitors can walk through.

The landscape also continues to feature permanent and returning works by Rachel Whiteread, Susan Philipsz, Isamu Noguchi and Solange Pessoa, reinforcing the Foundation's ambition to establish an evolving sculpture landscape where contemporary art unfolds across woodland, meadows and gardens rather than conventional gallery spaces.

Alongside the visual arts programme, multidisciplinary artist and musician Nabihah Iqbal will premiere Imagined, Eternal., her first concert-length classical composition for strings and electronics, on 23 and 24 May. Inspired by the Goodwood landscape and the poetry of John Keats, the new work will be performed outdoors with Manchester Collective, accompanied by site-specific visuals created by artist and director Daisy Dickinson.

Ann Gallagher, Consultant Curator at Goodwood Art Foundation, said: "I am delighted that an extended range of outstanding contemporary art is presented in the second summer season at Goodwood Art Foundation, with important new exhibitions and major new installations within the landscape.

"We are honoured to host the first major UK presentation of Nancy Holt's work within and beyond The Gallery, as well as a new commission and multiple sculptures by Eva Rothschild and a focus on Polly Apfelbaum. Major works by Hélio Oiticica, Yayoi Kusama and Lee Ufan will greatly enhance the experience of audiences exploring the landscape."

Opened in 2025, Goodwood Art Foundation has quickly established itself as one of Britain's most distinctive destinations for contemporary art. Situated on the historic Goodwood Estate, the not-for-profit institution combines world-class exhibitions with an ambitious learning programme and a carefully designed landscape, positioning art within an environment that encourages reflection, exploration and a deeper connection with nature.