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InspirationIllustration

Illustrator Ed Kluz celebrates Britain's eccentric and overlooked follies, temples and towers

Illustrator and printmaker Ed Kluz will be premiering his largest solo exhibition to date at Yorkshire Sculpture Park this winter, celebrating the eccentric, uncanny and overlooked follies, temples, and towers across the British landscape.

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A black and white scraper board illustration of a solitary cottage nestled within an arched tunnel of gnarled, bare trees, rendered in Ed Kluz's characteristic detailed style

Entitled Sheer Folly – Fanciful Buildings of Britain and running until 25 February 2018, the show will feature original paper collages, scraper boards, and prints which explore contemporary perceptions of the past through the reimagining of historic landscapes, buildings, and objects. His aesthetic takes reference from the ideas of early Romanticism, the Picturesque movement and antiquarian representations of topography and architecture.

Vibrant, meticulous and sometimes dark aspects of Kluz’s work reflect the many different characters and styles of British architecture over the last 500 years. In Sheer Folly – Fanciful Buildings of Britain, he depicts a varied collection of some of the most intriguing oddities, often hidden and forgotten, within the folly genre. Celebrated and familiar buildings also feature, including a series of six prints directly inspired by The Landmark Trust properties.

Kluz was born in 1980 and grew up in Swaledale, North Yorkshire. He studied Fine Art at the Winchester School of Art. His clients include the V&A, Faber & Faber, Folio Society, John Murray publishers, Little Toller Books and St Jude’s. Discover more at edkluz.co.uk.

All images courtesy of YSP & copyright Ed Kluz

A small white stone chapel with a moss-green roof and red door nestled between gnarled, leafless trees against a deep blue background, painted by Ed Kluz
Pale yellow stone folly with domed cupola and central green door, set against deep blue sky and pale ground in Ed Kluz's illustration
A pink and red Gothic Revival church with spires stands in a snowy landscape beside a bare white tree against a deep blue background, painted in Ed Kluz's Romantic style
A scraper board illustration by Ed Kluz showing a Gothic tower with domed turrets nestled amongst bare twisted trees, rendered in intricate black and white crosshatching and line work
Cream and pale yellow Gothic Revival tower with crenellations and blue-topped windows stands against a dark blue sky above an arched base, illustrated by Ed Kluz
A white stone castle tower with crenellations, Gothic arched windows and a golden door, illustrated against a dark blue night sky and pale ground
Ed Kluz's illustration of a symmetrical neoclassical building with a blue dome and flanking pavilions against a deep blue sky
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