Esquire Studio Sessions: Tom Butterworth’s sculptures bring the outdoors inside

The Sydney multidisciplinary artist is known for his organic sandstone sculptures. Now, he's expanding his practice, starting with new solo show, 'Sediment'

By Amy Campbell

Published: May 2, 2025

Tom Butterworth with pieces from his upcoming solo show, ‘Sediment’.

AROUND 18 MONTHS ago, Tom Butterworth stumbled across a discarded piece of sandstone that was caked in dirt and debris. He brushed it off, and noticed the amazing contours that bloomed across its surface. “I knew something special was there to be revealed,” he says. So he went about cleaning it off, sanding its grainy surface back into a smooth disc. Now it’s a coffee table, propped up by two brass legs and a wavy sandstone plank. This particular piece, explains Butterworth, is a one-of-one. But it’s emblematic of the new furniture works that make up Butterworth’s solo show, ‘Sediment’, which opens at Hake House of Art today.

‘Sediment’ marks a new beginning of sorts for Butterworth. After creating sculptures under the name Onestone for the last few years – applying the woodworking expertise he learned as a carpenter to the medium of sandstone – now, Butterworth is making art under his own name. It coincides with a moment of creative expansion, as Butterworth, who grew up in Narrabeen on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, pushes his practice beyond the realm of sculpture to include pieces of furniture and lighting, which he fittingly christens ‘functional art’.

“Humans have been sculpting since day dot,” says Butterworth of the connection his medium and practice shares with the ancient world. “I’m interested in immersing the exterior back into the interior, sustainably.”

Coffee table crafted from up-cycled sandstone.

While his remit is evolving, the sustainable lens through which he creates his timeless objects remains steadfast. Working with Australian Hawkesbury Sandstone, which geologists estimate to be anywhere between 235 and 250 million years old, the fluidity of each piece honours the beauty of the natural environment from which it emanates; relics of Mother Earth, coaxed by hand into brand new forms for the home.

At the opening of ‘Sediment’, a live contemporary dance performance will take place, while a soundtrack of retro and contemporary sounds will, as Butterworth puts it, create a moment whereby “movement, sound, and material coalesce”.

Below, the artist talks more about his love of bringing the exterior back inside, his definition of luxury and the work that goes into creating his pieces by hand.