The Hepworth in Wakefield recently reopened for a few days each week, after being closed because of the pandemic. There was an exhibition I really wanted to see and I read that it had been extended until November. However, rumours began to fly about a reimposition of a stricter lockdown to stem the rapidly rising cases of Covid-19 in Yorkshire and in the North of England generally. I realised if I did want to see it I'd better go soon, in case indoor venues like the gallery were forced to close again. So I nipped off to Wakefield, on a dull and damp day that didn't entice me to go 'out'. The brutalist concrete gallery, opened in 2011, sits right beside the River Calder and the water was swirling around rather dramatically, full of flotsam, after recent heavy rain. You get amazing views from the gallery's large windows.
The gallery is named after the sculptor Barbara Hepworth, who - although she settled in St Ives, Cornwall and was part of an artistic community there - was born and raised in Wakefield. The gallery holds a large collection of her work. At the moment these 1970 bronzes: Parent I, Parent II and Young Girl, from her 'Family of Man' series are displayed in the gallery's grounds. They were some of her final works, resembling piles of stones but hinting at human forms. She said she wanted them to look as though they had risen out of the ground.
The exhibition I wanted to see was Bill Brandt/Henry Moore. Some of Bill Brandt's photographs show Barbara Hepworth's sculptures. He visited Barbara in St Ives to take a series of portraits. He arranged to have some of her huge works, including this 1956 bronze work 'Involute', transported to the beach to photograph, where they look almost like organic forms left behind by the sea.
A lot of Bill Brandt's photographs of the human form remind me very much of Moore's sculptures so I'm not surprised that the two collaborated. I've been meaning to get down to Perry Green in Hertforshire where a lot of Henry Moore's sculptures are exhibited in the countryside.
ReplyDeleteWonderful sculptures. I saw quite a few Henry Moore's in an exhibit in Raleigh at their museum several years ago...some outside in a garden, some inside a gallery. It included information about his life and the models who posed for him. I love Hepworth's work and will look into Brandt's photos, since I don't know that I've seen them.
ReplyDeleteI love Barbara Hepworth's work so would love to see this show especially with the Henry Moore shots included.
ReplyDeleteThe water does look quite busy.
ReplyDeleteI did a museum tour recently because it was looking like there would be further restrictions and wanted material to last awhile.