Barbara Hepworth: Art and Life
What a treat it was to visit a gallery in person again!
The Hepworth Wakefield are marking their tenth anniversary with an extensive and exciting exhibition spanning the long and productive career of Barbara Hepworth who grew up in the area.
The building itself is a joy and an architectural triumph. A grey and imposing form from the outside with the waters of the Calder lapping at its edge, the inside is, in contrast, bright and airy, each room benefitting from wonderful daylight.
The exhibition begins with an overview spanning 40 years of Hepworth’s career. The visitor is then led smoothly from one room to another, following the chronological development of the sculptor’s practice, from early figurative works to the later abstract works as the sculptor sought to express emotions and universal truths.
Hepworth’s continuing curiosity and investigation of new materials and her exploration of relevant techniques are apparent throughout. Her understanding of the properties of each material and the deftness with which she exploited each of these to produce her sculptures reflect Hepworth’s undeniable talent and continuing interest in seeking new ways to express her ideas such as her belief in the link between the seen and the intangible and the correspondence between all living things.
‘I, the sculptor, am the landscape. I am the form and I am the hollow, the thrust and the contour.’ Barbara Hepworth, 1961.
The exhibition also includes a comprehensive collection of working models, mainly in plaster, together with video clips showing the work of the bronze foundries with whom she collaborated. The display of Hepworth’s own tools and workbench brings her presence into the room.
Some work made in 1998-2000 by Veronica Ryan, the first artist in residence at Hepworth’s St Ives studio is included in the show. Ryan, like Hepworth, is particularly attuned to specific materials’ characteristics and to their inherent message. The small works on display include hand cast plaster sculptures and crocheted nets. Displayed alongside some of the larger works, these more intimate pieces nonetheless hold their own and the connections between the two artists’ thoughts and concerns set the room alight.
Victoria Ryan
The synthesis of material and ideas continue to be, for me, one of the great draws of Barbara Hepworth’s work. I enjoyed every moment of my visit to the exhibition.
There is an excellent cafe on the ground floor as well as a dangerously well stocked gift shop, both very welcome adjuncts to a pleasurable gallery visit.
An eagerly awaited return visit is on the agenda for Sheila Hicks: Off the Grid show scheduled for 2022. Meanwhile the Barbara Hepworth: Art and Life continues until 27 February 2022.
www. hepworthwakefield.org/whats-on/barbara-hepworth-art-and-life
‘I think the thing to work at is that work & living is the same thing ... All is one movement’. Barbara Hepworth