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In an era of screens, pixels, and perpetual scrolling, art has never been more accessible or more flattened. We can zoom in on brushstrokes from a thousand miles away. We can view entire museum collections from our phones. AI can generate infinite images in seconds. However,  none of it replaces the physical encounter.

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The art I gravitate towards - the kind ModernForms champions, asks for presence. It demands that you stand in front of it. Walk around it. Feel its scale. Notice your breath as you engage. It cannot be compressed into a thumbnail or translated into a feed. It needs space not just to exist, but to work.

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That is why I have always believed in creating environments where art and audience can interact without mediation. This is part of the vision behind Springs Farm. Not just an equestrian centre, but a sculpture park - a site where artists respond directly to landscape, light, and time, and spectators respond in turn to their creations. When you see a work emerge from the ground, weathered by the elements, it speaks differently. It belongs to that place. It shapes and is shaped by its surroundings.

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There is something radical today about slowing down. About walking through a field to find a sculpture. About not knowing what hidden treasure might be lying just around the corner. Physical space invites this kind of discovery, while digital experience often encourages distraction. Art needs bodies. It needs light that changes by the hour. It needs uneven floors and echoes. It needs the distance between two works to matter. These aren't flaws. They are part of the language.

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Physical space also allows for risk. Ephemeral installations. Performances that only happen once. Works that deteriorate over time. These things don't make sense on Instagram, but they make sense in life. They stay with you not because they are well-documented, but because they are felt.

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In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms and acceleration, I consider it crucial to invest in the spaces that slow us down. Spaces where art is not content rather context. Not scrollable, but sculptural.

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ModernForms is committed to defending that kind of experience. Whether through commissions at Springs, partnerships with public institutions, or support for artists working site-specifically, we believe physical space is not a luxury - it is a necessity.

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Because some things still need to be walked into. Still need to be stood before. Still need to be real.

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