Gathering Stillness by Estelle Woolley at New Art Spaces: Chester

A meditative window exhibition of contemporary sculpture celebrates Spring, nature, and renewal in the heart of Chester.

Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces: Chester is proud to present Gathering Stillness, a new exhibition by Chester-based interdisciplinary artist Estelle Woolley, opening on April 23, 2025.

Installed in the windows of the former Topshop unit at the Grosvenor Shopping Centre, this unique exhibition offers a contemplative glimpse into the artist’s world, visible to passersby during regular shopping centre hours.

Gathering Stillness evokes quiet reflection and connection to nature through a series of sculptural assemblages. Woolley’s practice is rooted in fragility, ephemerality, and the poetic interplay of natural and found materials. Central to the exhibition is a garment-sculpture resembling a giant nest that embraces the model’s form—accompanied by documentary images from a life drawing event. Alongside this, delicate sculptural works—some newly created, others reimagined—are imbued with new life and meaning.

The materials used carry deeply personal and rural histories: farming tools, cow teeth, baler twine, horsehair, fragments of ferns, and a child’s sewing machine. Thorns collected from hedgerows where Woolley spent much of her life appear throughout, reflecting a tactile memory of place. Each assemblage is precariously balanced, supported by salvaged display stands found in the depths of the former retail space—layering the work with narratives of transformation, memory, and quiet resilience.

Estelle Woolley holds a First-Class Degree and Master’s in Fine Art from the University of Chester, where she also teaches as a Visiting Lecturer. Her work has been exhibited and published nationally and internationally, and she has received multiple awards for her work, notably her photographic wildflower masked self-portraits taken during the pandemic. She is currently Lead Artist at Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces: Chester.

This exhibition is supported by Castlefield Gallery and the University of Chester’s Art and Design department.