Nicholas Devlin's sculptural vision is an 'Alchemist's Folly' of transition and mystery

A fantastical folly? A space of surreal alchemy? Or another whimsical escape from the mundane? Canadian artist and furniture designer Nicholas Devlin's most recent creation embodies these visions, all encapsulated in his characteristic style: a fantasy trapped within a sculpture. Dubbed the Alchemist's Folly, the sculptor's first large-scale immersive installation is a functional garden sculpture in spotless white, entirely crafted in Devlin's studio in Brooklyn, New York. The sculptural art piece, a vast departure from the artist's usual scale of work and a vivid splash of colour was showcased during COLLECTIBLE New York 2024.

In an exclusive conversation with STIR, Devlin dissects his work and its pursuit of surreality, transition and movement. The sculpture artist traces his encounters with Surrealist painters, folklore and fantasy that manoeuvre this new artwork, the challenges associated with working on a new scale and his visions for the Alchemist's Folly—brimming with magic in the most unlikely of places.

Anushka Sharma: Could you take us through what led to the creation of Alchemist's Folly and explain the origin of its name?

Nicholas Devlin: A year ago, designer Harry Heissmann asked what I thought of building something along the lines of a giant outdoor strawberry gazebo. As I was building it, I tried to channel a more abstract feeling and the piece's direction kept changing and shifting continually as I worked through it. I was looking at Surrealist painters, specifically Remedios Varo, as well as Dorothea Tanning, and of course, Hieronymus Bosch, with his otherworldly strawberries.

The idea of alchemy felt particularly poetic for me because Varo has a painting called The Useless Science or The Alchemist and when a friend of mine introduced me to her work this was the first painting she showed me. It really impacted me, in this sublime sort of way. On the other hand, the idea of folly is "a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose, especially a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park." But, folly can also be a foolish idea or mistake, which was quite funny to me.

Anushka: This marks your first venture into creating large-scale outdoor sculptures. What did this transition in scale entail for you?

Nicholas: I have a background in architecture but I had never made anything this size, especially by myself in a rather small studio. The piece spanned from wall to wall and touched the studio's ceiling. I am not sure if it could have been even half an inch larger in any direction. I had to face intimidating challenges in terms of scale and figuring out how everything could fit together and come apart again, and how it would be transported and installed. The bigger the piece, the more all these things matter.

At the same time though, I think this scale did come quite naturally to me. When I envision new ideas, they are often large art installations or taking up entire rooms, so it was extremely gratifying to finally be able to go big like this.

Anushka: The outdoor sculpture features an organic composition in pure white, a stark contrast to your previous works defined by vivid hues. What was your intention behind keeping the artwork sans colours?

Nicholas: Well, it is funny. We were going back and forth on the final finishes and options and everyone loved it in white, which was just the piece in its natural state. There are some very intricate details and so the plainness of the white elevates that and captures these beautiful shadows. The more natural finish can hopefully weather and patina outside beautifully.

As my work has become more detailed and intricate, I felt the elements of fantasy and whimsy were there without needing the vibrant colours. I will also say, that there is often this misunderstanding that something colourful means it is for children or worth less than the same thing in a more 'grown up' or 'elevated' palette.

Anushka: Where did you seek inspiration for this piece? In addition to your existing knowledge, did you explore new works to reference?

Nicholas: I am massively into everything fantasy, folklore and the occult. My love for these things used to be something I was pretty embarrassed about when I was younger but it is the main source of inspiration in my recent work. It has been so enjoyable to let that show through. I spend a lot of time thinking about fantasy literature, video games, movies, set design, music, anything I can find, really. There are always world-building aspects going on for each piece. There is so much there to draw from and add to and I just love trying to bring those fantasies into our world and make them real.

Anushka: Could you elaborate on the process of Alchemist's Folly and whether it involved numerous prototypes and sketches?

Nicholas: I often start with a broader sketch, to capture the overall feel or essence of the piece and then immediately start building the final version. Sometimes it takes me a few sketches to get there and other times, I have to go in blind if I cannot get what is in my head to come out in the sketch.

A pretty unusual thing about the way I work is that I always try to fold the initial prototype into the final piece or continually rework it. I like to think about it as The Ship of Theseus, the philosophical paradox that asks if a ship has all of its parts replaced over time, is it still the same ship? Does it matter? Could you have gotten to the final piece without having built on its previous evolutions?

Anushka: Creating art at this scale, especially by hand, likely presents unique challenges. Did you encounter any new limitations or difficulties in this regard?

Nicholas: It was certainly a labour of love as they say, and over the six months it took to sculpt it entirely by hand, I had to stay disciplined and just keep working at it every day. I was also trying to push what I could do with these different materials—from plaster to wood and learning how to weld metal structures, or using fibreglass for certain parts. At times I, of course, dreamed of how a 5-axis CNC, 3D printer, or a big fabrication shop and team might have made it easier but at the same time, I think not having those things is what makes the piece rare.

Anushka: What setting do you envision Alchemist's Folly to be placed in and how do you imagine it transforming it? What emotions or responses do you wish to elicit through the immersive sculpture's presence?

Nicholas: Initially the piece was going to live in the client's backyard but now it might be in their office building, where more people can interact with and see it and I really like that idea too. I like to think of it as this little world that can go anywhere precisely because it is immersive—it creates its own environment. Stumbling on this in a forest would be so enchanting, I can also imagine it in a beautiful sculpture garden somewhere, but I think it is more fun to try and add some magic to the most unlikely of places.

In terms of how I wanted it to feel, I wanted it to pull you in and feel as if it was in this ethereal moment of transition like you were seeing something you were not supposed to. The mundane realities of the world and its unpleasantness can make it hard to feel an unbridled sense of excitement, awe and wonder as we grow older.

Anushka: What is NEXT for you?

Nicholas: Hopefully many many things! There's so much more I want to do. I think there is a lot of beauty in mystery. There may or may not be an exciting show or two on the horizon, a few new collaborations and different types of work I have never done before. You'll just have to wait and see!