Art Gallery and Exhibition Space in Holmfirth
From our West Yorkshire home in Holmfirth, we are delighted to bring you Art & Furniture. Art gallery and exhibition space, supporting acclaimed local creatives, offering inspiring pieces, from contemporary artworks to bespoke furnishings, all thoughtfully showcased to compliment any interior.
Summer Exhibition
17 July 2025 – 29 November 2025
DICK ONIANS
SCULPTURE
Thomas&Thomas are honoured to be presenting the work of internationally renowned sculptor Dick Onians M.A (Cantab), FRSS.
In a retrospective covering an illustrious, decades long career, we will be displaying familiar works and many that are being displayed publicly for the first time. His sculptural practice, spanning from the late 1960s to the present, merges abstraction with a deep sensitivity to organic and mathematical form.
Working primarily in wood and stone, and occasionally in steel, or casting in bronze and resin, Onians explores enduring themes of endlessness, growth, and continuous renewal.
After completing a degree at Cambridge University in 1962, Onians initially taught English and Latin before dedicating himself fully to sculpture. From 1966 to 1968, he trained at the City and Guilds of London Art School under William Wheeler. Onians returned to the school in 1978 to teach part-time, retiring in 2018.
Onians’ commitment to education was further recognised in 2003 when he became the first recipient of the President’s Award from the City and Guilds of London Institute, along with a Medal of Excellence, for his work at Missenden Abbey Adult Residential College in Buckinghamshire. Desperate to improve the standard of carving he has written 2 books on the subject. Essential Woodcarving Techniques and Carving the Human Figure. Both became textbooks worldwide.
In 2008, he was made a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters.
In 2014 he was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society of Sculptors.
Public Sculptures:
2003 – shortlisted with Anish Kapoor & Anthony Gormley for the British Memorial Garden Trust
in New York to commemorate the British victims of 9/11
2014 – The Still Centre of the Turning World
New Capital Quay, Greenwich, London
2019 – Chthonic Spirit
Baltimore Wharf, Docklands, London
From early representational commissions to the invention of new abstract forms, Onians’ practice reflects a lifetime of sculptural inquiry, concerned not only with the physical material but with the metaphysical dimensions of time, space, and transformation. This diversity has always made him difficult to categorise but delighted his private clients.
His works are held in private collections across the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, and the United States.
This exhibition invites audiences to encounter a body of work deeply rooted in tradition yet constantly seeking renewal, a testament to Onians’ enduring creative vision across more than five decades.
Often described by other artists as “the best sculptor no-one has ever heard of” Thomas & Thomas are proud to redress the balance.
Past Exhibitors
ANDREW SANDERSON
PHOTOGRAPHER
A professional photographer for over 20 years, Andrew Sanderson has established an international reputation as both teacher and practitioner of the photographic medium.
Andrew has exhibited regularly in the UK and New York, and has photographs in picture libraries in both Britain and the United States.
MATT POOLEY
PAINTER
An Artist and Photographic Stylist settling in Meltham, West Yorkshire in 2005, living on the edge of the Peak District, Matt developed a huge appreciation for the natural beauty of the local surrounding area.
Working in acrylic, watercolour, oils and ink documenting when the light is just right, or the weather conditions are unusual.
Opening Times
Monday 10:00am – 4:00pm
Tuesday 10:00am – 4:00pm
Wednesday 10:00am – 4:00pm
Thursday 10:00am – 4:00pm
Friday 10:00am – 4:00pm
Saturday 10:00am – 4:00pm
Sunday 11:00am – 3:00pm
At all other times, our showroom and design office
are open by appointment.
Where are we
You can find us at the Thomas & Thomas showroom in Holmfirth. For help with directions to our showroom in Millfield House download our map.
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