FOUR works by international sculptor John Maine drew in the crowds at a week-long exhibition in Chiswell Walled Garden.

Any doubts as to the works overwhelming the space were soon dispelled as, once positioned, the beautiful stone creations added further dimension to a garden owned by the community, through the Chiswell Community Trust (CCT).

This temporary exhibition, which ends today, was arranged as part of a BBC Breathing Places grant programme by the CCT which has been awarded two grants through this prestigious partnership with the Big Lottery Fund, one for the walled garden and a current grant for West Weares and the Chiswell Earthworks.

The sculptor John Maine, who made the Chiswell Earthworks between 1986 and 1993, generously loaned the sculptures.

Two of the pieces are studies for much larger commissions; the wonderful two-metre high monumental ring made of granite is a study for the fine war memorial commissioned for Islington Green in 2006, and now in place there.

This brings to light an entirely different aspect of Remembrance usually prominent in war memorials as to many viewers it symbolises an ethos of hope and peace.

The pink granite Escarpment' is a study for a much larger work in Japan and the two other pieces, the metre-high Pinnacle' and the geometric ball, Solid State', are both made of Portland stone.

A small brochure accompanied the exhibition and this gave visitors brief details of John's varied and successful career from his student days in Bristol and introduction to the Portland quarries in 1973, to the many commissions he has undertaken all over the world.

His most recent work includes Observatory', a white marble sculpture commissioned for Hue City in Vietnam.

He has sculptures and drawings in numerous public collections and has received many awards and prizes, and was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1996.

Margaret Somerville from the CCT said: "We are fortunate to see some of John's smaller single pieces. It is not necessary to touch sculpture to understand it and indeed, one should be able to touch work like this with the inner eye and an open mind."

John Maine said: "This is my first exhibition in such a small garden and I agree that the sculptures give it a different dimension and a new way of looking at the world.

"I am now moving towards simple forms and how they can be situated as part of the landscape, and I would like to say that as far as this walled garden goes, Margaret Somerville could make a desert bloom!"